Veteran signs a minor league deal He might not be the answer the Nationals have been seeking to their gaping hole in center field. But hoping to provide some competition for playing time in spring training and possibly bolster the bench for manager Davey Johnson, the Nats signed veteran outfielder Mike Cameron to a minor league contract on Monday.
Cameron, 38, is one of just five active players with 250 home runs and 250 stolen bases. But his best days are over at this point. Cameron’s last season in the big leagues as a full-time starter was 2009 when he posted a .794 OPS in 149 games for the Milwaukee Brewers.
He played in just 48 games with the Boston Red Sox in 2010 and another 78 in 2011 with both the Red Sox and Florida Marlins. Cameron was traded by Boston to Florida on July 5 last season. But despite eight doubles and six home runs with a .751 OPS in 45 games in Miami, Cameron was released on Sept. 14 for “conduct detrimental to the team” in part because of a reported dispute with a flight attendant on a team charter from Pittsburgh to Atlanta during a road trip.
Cameron was an All-Star in 2001 and a three-time Gold Glove winner in center field. If he makes Washington’s 25-man roster out of spring training, Cameron would be starting his 18th season with his ninth different club. He has been a starter on four playoff teams, most recently with the Brewers in 2008.
For now, Washington has Cameron competing in the outfield with Jayson Werth, Michael Morse, Roger Bernadina and Bryce Harper. Eury Perez, a minor leaguer who spent all of last season at Single-A Potomac, is the only other outfielder on the organization’s 40-man roster, though general manager Mike Rizzo is expected to add more.
