The Washington Nationals made another addition to their series. The club signed outfielder Kyle Schwarber on Saturday for a $ 10 million one-year contract, CBS Sports HQ’s Jim Bowden confirmed. The Nationals have not yet announced the signing.
Schwarber, March 28, was not presented by the Cubs last month. He is expected to earn about $ 8 million through arbitration in 2021, although the shortened season for 60 games has thrown a key in arbitration models. Schwarber experienced a bad 2020 season, hitting .188 / .308 / .393 with 11 home games in 59 games.
The Nationals added Josh Bell, who is similar to Schwarber, by being a powerhouse with a big upside from a year ago, last month in a three-way deal with the Pirates. Washington’s regular rankings figure as follows:
- SS Trea Turner
- RF Juan Soto
- 1B Josh Bell
- LF Kyle Schwarber
- 2B Starlin Castro
- C Yan Gomes
- CF Victor Robles
- 3B Carter Kieboom
- Pitcher’s place
Soto moved to the right field at the end of last year and is expected to stay ahead. The signing of Schwarber confirms that this will be the case. Once the universal DH becomes permanent (it has not happened yet, but is expected to be before opening day) the Nationals can bring back the franchise icon Ryan Zimmerman.
Bell and Schwarber are below-average defenders – Robles is an excellent center-back and I suspect the Nationals hope he can alleviate Schwarber’s shortcomings a bit. Washington therefore means that they will be back on the table in 2021. Bell hit 37 runs in 2019 and Schwarber has 38. Their butt is substantial.
The Nationals followed up their 2019 World Cup victory with a 26-34 record in 2020. With Bell and Schwarber on board, Washington can still use aid at third base and behind the board, as well as at the back of the rotation.