One of the Washington Nationals' biggest priorities so far this off-season has been behind the plate at the catchers position, and they continued to target that on Friday. The Nats acquired catcher Yan Gomes from the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Jefry Rodriguez, a minor league outfielder, and a player to be named later. Danile Johnson, the minor league outfielder, is a highly-touted player who the team sees helping the team within the next couple seasons. The 25-year-old Rodriguez appeared in 14 games last season, going 3-3 with a 5.71 ERA over 52 innings. Johnson spent his entire season at Double-A Harrisburg for the Nationals.
This is not a rebuild situation for the Indians, who once again took home the AL Central Division crown last season, but fell in the ALDS to the Houston Astros. They have already reached deals with Danny Salazar, Nick Goody, Neil Ramirez, and Eric Stamets.
This is the second catcher that the Nationals have added this off-season, as they also signed Kurt Suzuki to a two-year, $10 million contract. The 35-year-old will now split time with Gomes, who was the Indians' primary catcher in the past three seasons.
Gomes is coming off a career year with the Indians, batting .266 with a career-high 26 doubles, 16 home runs, and 48 RBIs in 112 games. He came over to the Indians from the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012 and was selected to his first All-Star Game last season. He will make $7 million next season, with the contract option for the 2020 campaign. Despite his recent accolades, there is no word on who will be the Nationals' primary catcher this upcoming season.
This is not a rebuild situation for the Indians, who once again took home the AL Central Division crown last season, but fell in the ALDS to the Houston Astros. They have already reached deals with Danny Salazar, Nick Goody, Neil Ramirez, and Eric Stamets.
This is the second catcher that the Nationals have added this off-season, as they also signed Kurt Suzuki to a two-year, $10 million contract. The 35-year-old will now split time with Gomes, who was the Indians' primary catcher in the past three seasons.
Gomes is coming off a career year with the Indians, batting .266 with a career-high 26 doubles, 16 home runs, and 48 RBIs in 112 games. He came over to the Indians from the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012 and was selected to his first All-Star Game last season. He will make $7 million next season, with the contract option for the 2020 campaign. Despite his recent accolades, there is no word on who will be the Nationals' primary catcher this upcoming season.
