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"He can do a lot of things," Washington Nationals' manager Matt Williams told MLB Network Radio hosts Jim Bowden and Casey Stern earlier this week when asked about new Nats' outfielder Nate McLouth, whose 2-year/$10.75M deal was officially announced today.
"He can steal bases," Williams said. "He's fantastic in all three outfield positions. He throws. He's got the ability to hit for power, so off the bench late in the game he can provide you that. He's kind of that hybrid guy. And he's one of the guys that Mike identified early that this could be a guy that fills the need for us."
McLouth put together a .258/.329/.399 season with the Baltimore Orioles in 2013, hitting 31 doubles and 12 HRs in 146 games and 593 plate appearances for the O's, over which he stole a career-high 30 bases and finished at +2.5 fWAR. In his nine MLB seasons, McLouth has put up a .250/.334/.418 line in 966 major league games. McLouth will be the Nationals' fourth outfielder in 2014, but Williams said it was his job to get the newest Nationals' position player 300-400 at bats. Reports on McLouth's two-year deal came out last week, but the Nats announced it this afternoon after he passed his physical:
The Nationals today signed outfielder Nate McLouth to a two-year contract and designated outfielder Corey Brown for assignment.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) December 12, 2013
In order to make room on the roster, as noted in the Nationals' tweet, Washington designated 28-year-old outfielder Corey Brown for assignment this afternoon.
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Acquired from the Oakland A's along with RHP Henry Rodriguez in the December 2010 trade that sent outfielder Josh Willingham to the Athletics, Brown, an '07 1st Round pick (59th overall) out of Oklahoma State University, has played just 36 games in the majors over the last three seasons, putting up a .175/.250/.400 line with three doubles and two home runs in 45 plate appearances.
Brown followed up on a .285/.365/.523, 22 double, nine triple, 25 HR campaign in 2012 with a .254/.326/.473 season at Triple-A Syracuse in 2013 in which he hit 26 doubles and 19 HRs in 107 games and 438 plate appearances.
