Veteran could compete for spot in center field The Nationals agreed to terms on a minor league contract with outfielder Rick Ankiel, according to a baseball source.
Ankiel, who spent last year with Washington, was a free agent at the end of the 2011 season. Financial terms were unavailable. He earned an invitation to spring training in Viera, Fla., which begins later this month, and will compete for a job there.
Listed by general manager Mike Rizzo as one of the team’s top priorities entering the offseason, the Nats still have not found an obvious candidate to start in center field. Ankiel, 32, started 84 games in center last season and another six in right field.
Ankiel made $1.5 million last year after signing a one-year contract with Washington on Dec. 20, 2010. He batted .239 with nine home runs and 37 RBI in 2011 but had just a .296 on-base percentage and a .659 OPS. He is a fine defensive player with one of the sport’s strongest outfield arms. But the left-handed batter has long been a better hitter against right-handed pitching, making him a good candidate for a platoon role in the outfield.
Also on the roster headed into spring training are outfielders Jayson Werth, Michael Morse and Roger Bernadina. The organization signed veteran Mike Cameron to a minor league contract earlier in the offseason, and top prospect Bryce Harper, 19, will at least have a chance to compete for a major league position. Rizzo has said Werth could play center if needed. He started 17 games at that spot last season.
That could be the best option if Harper were to make the team since he and Morse profile as corner outfielders. Morse led the Nats with 31 home runs, spending most of his time at first base until late in the season when he returned to left field. Bernadina, meanwhile, started 50 games in center in 2011 — though his .664 OPS at the plate inspires little more confidence there than Ankiel. Cameron started 39 games for the Florida Marlins in center and two more for the Boston Red Sox later in the season. He had a .643 OPS in 78 games between those two teams.
