Washington Nationals sign outfielder Gerardo Parra; Andrew Stevenson to 10-Day IL; Jimmy Cordero DFA’d...

Washington Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo was the Arizona Diamondbacks’ scouting director in 2004, when Gerardo Parra was signed as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela, and the General Manager expressed interest in the outfielder over the years, including in 2016, but he ended up signing with Colorado that winter, on a 3-year/$27.5M deal with the Rockies.

Parra put up a combined .283/.320/.407 line in his three years in Denver, hitting a total of 68 doubles and 23 home runs in 1,249 plate appearances over the course of that deal.

Parra, 32, signed with San Francisco this winter, taking a 1-year/$1.75M minor league deal with the Giants, but was Designated for Assignment after putting up a .198/.278/.267 line with three doubles and a home run in 30 games and 97 PAs, and granted free agency this week.

“It’s always tough to say goodbye to a really, really good guy and player in Parra,” Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy told reporters, as quoted by San Francisco Chronicle writer John Shea after Parra hit the market again.

“I consider myself fortunate to get a chance to know him and see him at least for these couple of months, see what kind of guy he is, kind of person. We’ll miss him.

Bochy said he thought Parra would find another team quickly, “... especially because he can impact a game defensively,” and it didn’t take long for the Nationals to take a shot on the 11-year veteran.

ESPN’s José F. Rivera was the first to report that the outfielder and the Nationals agreed on a deal with Washington and he would join the team in LA, where they are playing a four-game series with the Dodgers this weekend.

This afternoon, the Nats made the deal official, and they announced corresponding roster moves, placing Andrew Stevenson on the 10-Day Injured List with back spasms while designating reliever Jimmy Cordero for assignment to make room for Parra on the 40-Man roster.