The Washington Nationals nearly made it to the National League championship series last season but fell short, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in five games.
The team is hoping for a better result next year and took actions towards that on Tuesday at the winter meetings in Nashville, signing free agent starting pitcher Dan Haren to a one-year, $13 million deal, according to sources who spoke to ESPN.com.
The deal is pending a physical, according to sources, and could be completed this week. Haren will take the place of Edwin Jackson in the Nationals rotation after he became a free agent following the end of the season.
According to ESPN.com, the Angels bought out the final season on Haren's contract for $3.5 million in November. The team previously tried to trade him to the Chicago Cubs for closer Carlos Marmol, but the deal fell through.
"I think it's a great move, if we can get him," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said Tuesday at the winter meetings in Nashville, according to the Associated Press. "Great athlete, outstanding stuff -- gamer. He fits right in. He can swing the bat. If we get that finalized, he'll be a great addition."
The 32-year-old pitcher had a the worst season of his career last season with the Los Angeles Angels, going only 12-13 with a 4.33 ERA in 30 starts. He had 142 strikeouts and 38 walks with one shutout and one complete game.
Haren dealt with a back injury last season and threw a career-low 176 innings. According to USA Today, the season "broke a string of seven consecutive seasons in which he pitched at least 216 innings."
The Nationals were one of the most impressive teams in baseball last season and finished with an MLB-best 98-64 record. The team won its first NL East title and made it to the National League division series before losing to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Haren will combine with Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann and Ross Detwiler to give the Nationals one of the strongest rotations in all of baseball. All four pitchers had an ERA of at least 3.40 or under and pitched at least 160 innings last season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
"I've got some young guys that act like veterans, and they pitched like veterans last year for me," Johnson said, according to ESPN.com. "But adding a veteran like Haren is going to make things even better. I've seen him pitch over the years, and he's an intense competitor. Hopefully we'll get it done."
During the offseason last year the Nationals traded for Gonzalez and have made moves this year, including bringing in outfielder Denard Span from the Minnesota Twins. The team had been looking for someone to replace Jackson, who was 10-11 with a 4.03 ERA last season.
The Boston Red Sox were previously interested in Haren, but backed away at the $13 million price tag for a one-year deal.
Haren is a risk for the Nationals due to his back injury, but the team sees him as a valuable gamble in 2013.
In 2010 Haren was traded to the Angels from the Diamondbacks, where he was named an All-Star in 2008 and 2009, after going 14-10 with a 3.14 ERA and 223 strikeouts in 33 starts.
His best streak with the Angels came right after he was traded to the team. In 14 starts in 2010, Haren went 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA with 75 strikeouts and one complete game in 94 innings.
According to ESPN Stats and Information, "Dan Haren was durable before 2012. From 2005-11, he pitched at least 216 innings in each season. The only other active pitcher with a streak of 216+ IP for 7 straight seasons is Livan Hernandez (2000-06)."
Haren has played for four other teams in his career, including the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He has been an All-Star three times and has a career record of 119-97 with a 3.66 ERA, with 1,585 strikeouts and six shutouts in 296 games.
According to Keith Law at ESPN.com, the deal is "reminiscent of the A's deal with Ben Sheets in 2010, where they gave him $10 million on a one-year deal to see whether he could stay healthy; Sheets couldn't, and the A's got just 119 innings of replacement-level pitching from him. Haren could offer more."
