The Washington Nationals have agreed to a two-year contract with free-agent catcher Kurt Suzuki, according to multiple reports.
The news was first reported by MLB.com.
Suzuki played for the Nationals for parts of the 2012 and ’13 seasons, hitting .239 with eight home runs and 50 RBIs in 122 games. He was acquired by the Nationals from the Oakland Athletics in 2012 and then traded back to the A’s in 2013.
Suzuki, who turned 35 after the season, is coming off the best two offensive seasons of his career with the Atlanta Braves and is strong defensively. He hit .271 in 2018, and he had 31 home runs with 100 RBIs in 186 games over his two seasons with Atlanta.
The veteran catcher earned $3.85 million in 2018.
Suzuki, who has a .258 career batting average, has played with Minnesota, Washington, Oakland and Atlanta over his 12 seasons. He was named to the 2014 All-Star team while with the Twins.
He has thrown out 219 baserunners trying to steal a base, which ranks fourth among active catchers. He also ranks fourth in games caught (1,229) and putouts as a catcher (8,250).
Veteran catcher Matt Wieters, who appeared in 76 games for the Nationals in an injury-marred 2018 season, is a free agent.