Washington Nationals reportedly ink Ehire Adrianza to one-year, major league deal

The Washington Nationals continue to make moves around the fringes of their roster in the days since the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was ratified.

Following on from agreeing to a one-year deal with reliever Steve Cishek on Saturday, the Nationals’ latest move is the reported signing of Ehire Adrianza to a major league deal on Sunday.

The news was first reported by Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase and later confirmed by Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post, who also added that the deal is for $1.5 million with incentives.

During his nine-year major league career, Adrianza has been a light-hitting, versatile utility man who has played at every position aside from catcher in the majors, playing for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, and Atlanta Braves in that time.

Adrianza spent last season with the Braves, slashing .247/.327/.401 with five home runs, and 28 RBIs in 209 plate appearances. He also made appearances in each postseason series for Atlanta on their way to a World Series title and had a key RBI double against the Los Angels Dodgers.

With the signing of Adrianza, the Nationals have plenty of infield options in camp this spring.

Luis García figures to play the majority of games either at second base or shortstop with management still keeping a keen eye on the future, which they hope he will be a big part of.

That then leaves Adrianza to fight with Alcides Escobar and César Hernández, who both signed major league deals this offseason, as well as non-roster invites such as Dee Strange-Gordon, for the rest of the at-bats in the middle of the infield or as a bench role-player.

That may not be all for the Nationals today though. Just after the Adrianza news broke, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported that the team was among the finalists in pursuit of veteran Designated Hitter, Nelson Cruz, with the universal DH adding in another wrinkle to the front office’s roster construction this season.

It’s only small moves for now for Mike Rizzo’s team, but expect things to pick up with Spring Training fast approaching and plenty of holes still to fill out...