Nationals sign OF Ankiel to minor league deal
Rick Ankiel - OF - Washington Nationals
Feb. 6, 2012 - 4:45 PM ET
Nationals signed OF Rick Ankiel to a minor league contract.
The deal comes with an invitation to Spring Training. He'll make $1.25 million if he makes the team, according to the Associated Press. Best case scenario for Ankiel is that he wins a platoon job in camp with Mike Cameron in center, which would knock Roger Bernadina to the bench and possibly off the roster. Worst case is that Washington moves Jayson Werth to center or trades a starting pitcher for another outfielder and Ankiel isn't able to crack the roster. We like his odds, but he won't be fantasy relevant outside of deep NL-only leagues. The 32-year-old batted .239/.296/.363 with nine home runs, 37 RBI, 10 stolen bases and a .659 OPS over 415 plate appearances with Washington last season.