Report: Nationals sign Brian Dozier to one-year, $9 million contract

Brian Dozier has reportedly agreed to a one-year, $9 million contract with the Washington Nationals.

The longtime Minnesota Twins second baseman is fresh off a trip to the World Series as a deadline acquisition for the Los Angeles Dodgers and still has plenty to offer. This is his first foray into free agency, and while it was expected he would command a larger (or longer) contract, his one-year deal isn’t so surprising considering catcher Yasmani Grandal’s one-year deal, which was reported on Wednesday.

Dozier was an All-Star in 2015 and has hammered at least 21 home runs in each of his last five seasons to go with a .768 career OPS. He might not be the best player at his position on the market — his class features D.J. LeMahieu and Daniel Murphy — but Dozier certainly isn’t far from the top spot.

While he wasn’t a standout star in the playoffs this year, it’s tough to judge Dozier’s postseason work based on numbers alone. The Dodgers were able to use him more situationally than anything, thanks to the depth they built up, and started Dozier in just three games. He tallied 20 official at-bats with four hits, six strikeouts and six walks. Instead consider what the Dodgers included in their deal to bring Dozier to Los Angeles as a rental player: two potential big-leaguers in pitcher Devin Smeltzer and first baseman Luke Raley as well as the expiring contract of Logan Forsythe. Raley is already a top-20 prospect in Minnesota per MLB Pipeline.

Dozier is a solid pick up, especially for his ability to hit off of lefties, where his career batting average jumps from .246 to .269 and his batting average on balls in play is .298.

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee

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