Reliever Matt Capps officially signed a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the Nationals today. He can earn another $425K for games finished. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick first named the Nats a strong contender for Capps on December 21st. ESPN's Buster Olney had the Nats closing in on the 23rd, and MLB.com's Bill Ladson had an agreement being reached on the 24th. ESPN's Bruce Levine added the terms later that day.
The Cubs and Mets were other late contenders for Capps, but his best shot at closing was in Washington. The Nationals have the option of keeping Capps for 2011 as an arbitration-eligible player. He was surprisingly non-tendered by the Pirates on December 12th, and many teams expressed interest. Capps, 26, had an off-year for the Bucs in '09, posting a 5.80 ERA with an abundance of hits and home runs in 54.3 innings.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
