Nady was signed because of injury concerns to Laroche, Ankiel and Morse. Injuries which got worse as spring training began.
So no, there weren't better players available when Nady was signed to a minor league contract.
Lombo, Tracy, Ankiel, DeRosa (this one could be argued) and Flo would have made for an above average bench.
Rizzo chased Dobbs but he decided to re-sign with the Fish.
.....
That's how benches are built for the most part.
Don't agree? Show me otherwise. Show me where guys who would start elswhere are signing lucrative contracts to be back-ups.
Thank you for tossing this right into my wheelhouse because every bit of evidence you used to counter my point is precisely what's wrong with the way Rizzo constructs his bench.
If you sign the best bench players available, early and compensate them thusly, you don't have to make desperate signings on March 18. It's called being proactive. And injuries happen, particularly with this team. With this team, it happens every year, a starter (or two (or three)) miss considerable amounts of time due to injury.
And this ISN'T the way benches are constructed by good (big market teams that are willing to spend money on bench players). Look at the Yankees bench, the Red Sox bench, the Dodgers bench. And you mentioned Dobbs. He signed for two years, three million dollars. No bench player for the Nationals is signed for multiple years and no one makes anywhere near $1.5 million per season. Even the Marlins know you can't expect to get good bench players for one year, veteran minimum.
