The Washington Nationals have signed first baseman/outfielder Mike Carp to Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training. MLB.com's Bill Ladson reported the news late Tuesday morning. The deal also has a clause that will pay Carp $1MM if he breaks camp with the team. The deal seems like a good way for Carp, who had a less then stellar 2014 with the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers, to make a comeback and a provide safe bet for the Nationals, who have plenty of options outside of Carp.
Carp was once the talk of the league after 2013 when he helped the Red Sox win the World Series, but his 2014 campaign left most people looking the other way. In 149 plate appearances, he ended the season with a .175/.289/.230 slash line with zero home runs. The major problem seems to have stemmed from trouble making consistent solid contact. Carp saw a 4% drop in line drives and a 5% rise in ground balls. The .227 BABIP also implies that he just was not making good enough contact to get hits consistently. There were some very positive signs for Carp as well. He was able to increase his walk rate from 9.1% in 2013 to 10.7% in 2014, and he was also able to drop his very large 27.6% strikeout rate to a much more manageable 20.8%.
Carp has a number of astrengths that he can offer the Nationals. As discussed earlier in the offseason, Carp provides on-base ability,productive contact, and veratility. Although not for a high average, he makes contact that could potentially move runners. Carp grounded into only six double plays last year. He can also play both corner infield and both corner outfield positions equally well as his .990 career fielding percentage will show. This makes him a valuable late defensive replacement or allows him to spot start at different positions to give the regulars a day off when needed.
