Too much pitching?

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Ryan Mattheus pitched well last year but will have a tough time making this year's team.

It's a tired cliche among baseball folks: "You can never have enough pitching." Yes, it's true. No team has ever been hurt by having too many good pitchers on its staff.

But sometimes too much pitching can lead to some potential problems, and the Nationals could find themselves in such a scenario come late-March.

Yesterday's signing of Brad Lidge added yet another accomplished arm to a pitching staff that already looked both strong and deep, and it perhaps caused some people to pause and wonder if the Nationals are going to have enough spots on the Opening Day roster to accommodate everyone deserving of a job.

Let's run through all the pitchers on the 40-man roster, broken down into starters and relievers...

STARTERS
1. Stephen Strasburg
2. Jordan Zimmermann
3. Gio Gonzalez (L)

Lidge: Nats "can make a playoff run"

Brad Lidge spent the last four seasons watching his Phillies beat up the Nationals. All of a sudden, the veteran reliever is on the other side of the equation, and he believes his new employer could be on the verge of supplanting his former club atop the NL East.

"I'm definitely excited for the new opportunity and playing for the Nationals," Lidge told CSNphilly.com's Jim Salisbury today after agreeing to a one-year, $1 million contract. "They have outstanding potential. I really think we can make a playoff run."

Though the 35-year-old has made his mark in the big leagues as a premier closer, he'll take on a much different role in Washington. General manager Mike Rizzo said Lidge will be used as a set-up man, helping bridge the gap between the Nationals' starting rotation and late relievers Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen.

"Drew Storen's our closer; Tyler Clippard's our setup guy," Rizzo said this afternoon during an interview at Nationals Park. "But Brad Lidge will

Lidge agrees to 1-year deal with Nats

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Brad Lidge has 223 career saves and a 3.44 ERA in 10 seasons.

Updated at 11:49 a.m.

In search of a veteran reliever who could help soften the burden on late-inning stars Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard, the Nationals are turning to a one-time nemesis from a division rival.

The Nationals have come to terms on a one-year contract with former Phillies closer Brad Lidge, the club announced this morning. The deal will pay the 35-year-old a $1 million base salary, with incentives, according to CSNphilly's Jim Salisbury.

Lidge has extensive experience closing in both Houston and Philadelphia, but in Washington he'll be used as a setup man, probably pitching the seventh inning in front of Clippard and Storen.

Though injuries and inconsistent performances cost him the closing job with the Phillies, Lidge did put up strong numbers last season when

What's left to do before spring training?

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Mike Rizzo again suggested Jayson Werth could wind up in center field this year.

There are 24 days remaining before pitchers and catchers report to Viera, Fla., for the start of spring training, which is still plenty of time for the Nationals to add or subtract from their roster.

Listening to Mike Rizzo speak yesterday after the Gio Gonzalez introductory news conference, though, it sure sounded like the Nationals general manager doesn't plan on making many more moves of consequence between now and Feb. 19.

"We feel good about where we're at," Rizzo said. "You're never satisfied. We need more arms, to improve the bullpen, improve the bench, all those factors. But with that said, we're comfortable going into [spring training] with what we've got."

Those few potential additions over the next 3 1/2 weeks would be more of the roster-tweaking variety than the roster-overhaul variety. Rizzo would like to supplement his bench with another potent bat, preferably

Gio: D.C. is "where we want to be"

Updated at 7:20 p.m.

Gio Gonzalez has had more than a month to contemplate his trade from the Athletics to the Nationals, and he's had nearly two weeks to contemplate the five-year extension he was given from general manager Mike Rizzo before ever throwing a pitch for his new club.

Gonzalez knows there will be plenty of attention, and perhaps some pressure on him now. And he doesn't shy away from it.

"I know that Mike took a shot with me," the left-hander said today upon finally being introduced at Nationals Park. "And I don't want to let him down."

It was that competitive nature, coupled with a 31-21 record and 3.17 ERA over the last two seasons in Oakland, that convinced the Nationals not only to acquire Gonzalez in exchange for prospects Brad Peacock, Tommy Milone, A.J. Cole and Derek Norris but then to give him a $42