Washington Nationals Sign Scott Sizemore To Minor League Deal
By Ricky Keeler
After signing Sean Burnett and Reed Johnson to minor league contracts with an invite to spring training earlier this week, the Washington Nationals invited infielder Scott Sizemore to Viera this February for spring training. This is according to William Ladson of MLB.com.
The #Nats signed infielder Scott Sizemore to a Minor League deal with an invitation to Spring Training. #Nationals #MLB
— William Ladson (@ladsonbill24) November 20, 2015
Sizemore did not play in the Major Leagues this season, but he was with the Nats’ organization for the second half of the season. After being released by the Miami Marlins in July, the Nats signed him on August 22.
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In the 14 games that he played with the Syracuse Chiefs, the 30-year-old right-handed hitter had a slash line of .426/.481/.574 with one home run and seven RBI’s. Out of the 14 games that he played in with Syracuse, Sizemore had six multi-hit games.
Sizemore began his Major League career with the Detroit Tigers. Detroit drafted him in the fifth round of the 2006 MLB Draft out of VCU. He would make his debut with the big league club in 2010. He played 65 games with Detroit and hit .223 with three home runs and 18 RBI’s.
In the middle of the 2011 season, Detroit traded Sizemore to the Oakland Athletics for left-handed relief pitcher David Purcey. He hit .249 in 93 games with 11 home runs and 52 RBI’s during the remainder of that season and he had a .342 on-base percentage. However, since that season, the veteran infielder has only played in eight major league games the last four seasons (two with Oakland in 2013 and six games with the New York Yankees in 2014).
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Over the course of his career, Sizemore has shown the ability to play three positions in the infield: second base, shortstop, and first base. While he has made 24 errors in his career, 13 of them came in 2011 when he played third base for the A’s. He made two errors at second base for the Chiefs in 11 games this year.
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When you look at this signing for the Nationals, it is a move that helps their organizational depth at the minor leagues. The team knows what Sizemore can do at the triple-A level (.292 career batting average) and he is insurance in case the Nats have more injuries in their infield like they did this past season. With that being said, it’s tough to think Sizemore, who will be 31 in January, will have a ton of impact on the Major League roster when the 2016 season begins in April.