Nationals sign outfielder/first baseman Franky Cordero He signed a minor league deal, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball Media. There are conflicting reports as to whether the deal includes an invitation to the Nationals’ major league spring camp, with Layton writing that Cordero received an invitation, while The Washington Post’s Andrew Golden did not. .
Cordero returns to North American baseball after one year with the Nippon Professional Baseball Seibu Lions. More specifically, Cordero spent most of his time with the Lions’ top minor league affiliate, as he played in just 23 games for the Lions and tallied 73 NPB games. It’s 0.129/.151/.200.
It wasn’t the performance Cordero was hoping for during his trip to Japan, which may be why (according to Golden’s report) Washington only extended him an invitation to a minor league spring training facility. Regardless of the exact nature of Cordero’s contract, a minor league deal would be a risk-free move for the Nationals to take a first-hand look at Cordero and see what else he can bring to the table heading into his age-30 season.
Cordero played 251 games with the Padres, Royals, Red Sox and Yankees from 2017-23, hitting .217/.283/.395 with 27 home runs and over 797 PA . Despite the lack of production, it’s easy to see why so many teams keep taking a chance on Cordero, as his power potential, exit velocity numbers and acceleration give the impression that a breakout is coming. Cordero’s career strikeout rate of 34.9%, however, minimizes his impact, as pitchers are often able to turn Cordero’s aggressive approach at the plate into a minus rather than a plus.
Defensively, Cordero has experience at first base and all three outfield positions, although he is not considered an outfielder. Washington State’s minor league depth chart doesn’t have many players with MLB first base or outfield experience, so the Nationals may only view Cordero as a backup plan in Triple-A.
