The Nationals announced that they have officially signed Jerry Hairston Jr. to a one-year contract with a $2MM base salary. Hairston, a CAA client, can earn another $1MM in incentives.
Hairston hit .244/.299/.353 in 476 plate appearances for the Padres last year, playing all over the diamond, as usual. The 34-year-old appeared at short, second, third and in both corner outfield positions in 2010. Hairston hasn't shown much of a platoon split throughout his career; the right-handed batter has an OPS of about .700 against right-handers and left-handers.
The Nationals have been in the midst of a back-and-forth with the Mets this week. First, the Mets signed longtime Nats utlity player Willie Harris. Then the Nats signed former Mets utility player Alex Cora. We heard yesterday that the Mets are likely to sign Scott Hairston and the Nats responded by agreeing to terms with his brother today.
MLB.com's Bill Ladson first reported the deal, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added details (Twitter links).
