The Washington Nationals have signed outfielder Kyle Schwarber to a one-year deal pending a physical, according to Jesse Doughtery of the Washington Post.
MLB Network’s Joel Sherman reported the deal is worth $10 million.
Adding Schwarber fills the middle-of-the-order bat the Nationals were seeking this winter. They also plug their hole in the outfield.
Schwarber is expected to play in left field, moving cornerstone player Juan Soto to right field. It’s a move the Nationals had been anticipating. Soto played six games in right during the 2020 season.
The 27-year old Schwarber hit 38 home runs and 29 doubles while adding 92 RBIs in 2019. However, he averaged 148.7 strikeouts per year between 2017-2019.
During the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Schwarber hit .188/.308/.393. But he had 11 homers in 59 games which paced toward 30 homers during a full 162-game season.
Schwarber has hit .230/.336/.480 throughout his six years in the majors. He has 121 home runs and 290 runs batted in. He became a free agent this offseason after the Chicago Cubs non-tendered the outfielder this offseason.
