Throw another name into the ring for a spot in next year's rotation: right-hander Enrique Gonzalez, who the Nationals just claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks.

The quick story on Gonzalez: The 25-year-old was the D'backs minor-league pitcher of the year in 2004 and progressed through their system well. He struggled when given a chance to pitch in the majors last season, though, going 3-7 with a 5.67 ERA. Given a shot to make the rotation this spring, he struggled mightily and was sent down to Class AAA Tucson, where he never found his groove again. He went 8-10 with a 5.15 ERA and was given only one brief appearance in Arizona in which he surrendered three runs in two innings. The word on him is that he lost his confidence after getting sent down in spring training and has had a difficult time getting it back since.

That said, this is a low-risk move for the Nats. Gonzalez was placed on the 40-man roster, but because it's so late in the season, he won't report to the big-league club. He'll come to spring training next year with a shot to make the back end of the rotation, and even if he doesn't make it, he'll give the club a promising young arm at Class AAA, something they didn't have a lot of this year.