Nationals make low-risk, high-reward signing of Mark Reynolds

The Washington Nationals have stumbled along so far in 2018, and they added a power bat to boost offensive production.

For some reason, it took two weeks into the 2018 regular season for slugger Mark Reynolds to find a job. He bashed 30 home runs last year for the Colorado Rockies. The Nationals signed the first baseman to a contract, according to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman. This is a win-win for D.C., as the club isn’t paying a ton to have him on the roster.

So far, the Nationals have the No. 13 offense in MLB. The surprising New York Mets have the best record in baseball, so the tables have turned for D.C. early on in the NL East standings. With that said, Washington is acquiring a valuable veteran presence who still has significant power. Personally, I would’ve signed Reynolds over the struggling Matt Adams in the first place.

With first baseman and a college teammate of Reynolds at Virginia, Ryan Zimmerman, also struggling early in the season, Reynolds provides insurance in case either of them continues to struggle into the summer.

Reynolds will be a lethal bench bat ready to produce. The low-risk, high-reward tactic has a great chance to pay off. Even if he only mashed 15 homers as a bench bat, that’s pretty good. The Nationals are hoping for the best, and it’s nice to see productive players finally getting a spot. Reynold has been a legit power source and is one of the most underrated power hitters in baseball.

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D.C. is a team looking to get over the hump in October, and a subtle addition like Reynolds will benefit them. The club will now have to chase down the Mets. The team has been underwhelming at times so far, but the Nats need to keep pushing and keep their foot on the pedal. Overall, this is a good signing for a club looking to compete for a World Series.