Washington Nationals sign first baseman Adam Lind

Big name additions are rare at this point, but the Washington Nationals have added a power hitter.

The Washington Nationals enter seemingly every season with World Series aspirations and expectations, which have yet to be fulfilled. 2017 is no different, with plenty of high-level talent in place, but adding some supplementary players can always be on the radar.

After Jim Bowden of ESPN first reported the Nationals were close to signing free agent first baseman Adam Lind on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports followed up with the news of a one-year deal with a team option for 2018 between the two sides.

Lind spent last season with the Seattle Mariners, posting a .239/.286/.431 slash-line with 20 home runs and 58 RBI over 430 plate appearances (126 games). He has spent most of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays (2006-2014), before spending 2015 with the Milwaukee Brewers and 2016 with the Mariners.

Lind has hit at least 20 home runs in six of the last eight seasons, and as could be expected as a left-handed hitter he has done very well against right-handed pitching during his career (.287/.347/.502 slash-line).

With the oft-injured Ryan Zimmerman (115 games or less in three straight seasons) in place at first base, Lind looks like a great fit in Washington as part of a platoon that could be very prolific for manager Dusty Baker. Lind has played some left field in his career (224 games), but his last action there came with the Blue Jays way back in 2010. Since then, he has strictly been a first baseman and a designated hitter.

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A fairly surprising career split for Lind is his prowess off the bench, with a .921 career OPS (.309/.389/.532 slash-line) over 108 plate appearances as a pinch hitter. so Lind can also be a power bat off the bench for Baker, to help stress opposing bullpens and effect an opposing manager’s strategy.