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Washington Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo was asked about the persistent rumors tying the Nats to free agent catcher Matt Wieters in a Monday morning appearance on Sirius/XM Fantasty Baseball.
"We like our catching depth that we have in camp right now,” Rizzo said.
“We're deep, our young players, [Pedro] Severino, we've got Raudy Read who we added to our 40-man roster along with [Jose] Lobaton and [Derek] Norris at the big league level, we like our depth there."
But you can never have enough depth, apparently....
According to multiple reports this morning the Nationals and Wieters are closing in on a deal.
Prepare yourself for a new barrage of Boras Nationals jokes (you know, instead of “Washington Nationals”):
Source confirms: #Nationals close to signing Wieters. First reported: @JonHeyman.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 21, 2017
Sorry I misread my info: Wieters deal is 2 yrs with an opt out NOT an option. Sorry #Nationals
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 21, 2017
No deal is done yet, but source says #Nats are progressing toward a deal with Matt Wieters. (First reported by @JonHeyman)
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) February 21, 2017
What does the signing mean for the Nationals’ current catching corps?
Does Norris become the backup to the switch-hitting Wieters?
Does Rizzo try to trade from an area of depth now?
Are you concerned about Wieters’ defense? His offense?
What does this mean for Lobaton and Severino?
#Nationals will have obvious surplus of catchers once Wieters deal is official - Norris, Lobaton, Severino.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 21, 2017