• A year and a half after his last major league start, former San Francisco Giants' 1991 1st Round pick Shawn Estes, a left-hander out of Nevada who pitched for the Mets, Reds, Cubs, Rockies, D-Backs and Padres during his 13-year career, signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals after "retiring" last season when he failed to make the Los Angeles Dodgers' roster. After being cut by the Dodgers in March, Estes accepted an assignment to LA's Triple-A affiliate with the intention of reinventing himself as a late-inning lefty, but three months later it was reported everywhere that Estes was done, though the pitcher later told reporters that he'd only retired from pitching in the Minors, and was available for anyone with room on their Major League roster.
(101-93) overall with a career 4.71 ERA in 281 starts and 2 relief appearances, Estes averaged 6.5 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 over 1,678.1 IP in his 11 MLB seasons. MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez cites an AP report in his article entitled, "Nationals sign veteran lefty Estes", that says the 38-year-old left-hander signed for $600,000 with, "... a possible $400,000 in performance bonuses if he's added to the club's 40-man roster."
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