Washington Nationals Acquire Scott Olsen, Josh Willingham in Trade With Florida Marlins

"The back is good, really good," Willingham said. "It's been good since I've come back to play. If I stay healthy, the numbers are going to be there. They always have been."

As for Willingham's potential place spot in the batting order, Bowden deferred to Manager Manny Acta, who did not attend the news conference.

Meanwhile, Olsen has pitched at least 170 innings in each of the last three seasons and joins fellow lefty John Lannan in the rotation.

But Olsen arrives in Washington with a list of transgressions that include a confrontation with former Marlins manager Joe Girardi and multiple scraps, on the field and off, with teammates and opponents alike. The lowlight came in 2007, when he was charged with driving under the influence and scuffled with police officers.

Olsen stayed out of trouble last season, when he went 8-11 with a 4.20 ERA. Nevertheless, with his first arbitration year looming and ample pitching depth in the minor leagues, the Marlins deemed the lefty expendable.

"You just try to keep yourself out of situations where there might be a problem," said Olsen, whose durability made him an attractive trade target. "I think that's the biggest thing with all this maturing that everybody claims that I've done."

Bowden struck a familiar refrain from when the team has taken a shot on players with past troubles.

"We did a lot of homework on his makeup," Bowden said. "We talked to a lot of teammates, not just from this year but from the last couple of years because we really wanted to understand everything. After talking to them, we feel we have a real good person who's a great competitor, and extremely tough."