Nationals acquire David DeJesus from Cubs

By Pete Kerzel

Nationals

August 19, 2013, 11:48am

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The Washington Nationals today acquired outfielder David DeJesus from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a player to be named and released outfielder Roger Bernadina. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. DeJesus is a career .279 (1281-for-4587) hitter with 254 doubles, 61 triples, 86 home runs, 513 RBI, 449 walks and a .354 on-base percentage in 11 big league seasons with the Cubs, Athletics and Royals. During his career, DeJesus has twice hit .300 (.318 in 2010, .307 in 2008) and seven times registered a .350-plus on-base percentage. The 33 year-old DeJesus served as the Cubs' primary center fielder (64 starts) this year and hit .250 with 19 doubles, six home runs, 27 RBI and 29 walks in 84 games. DeJesus is regarded as a plus defender who can play all three outfield slots. He has started over 600 games in center field during his career and his .992 fielding percentage ranks 10th among all active outfielders. Upon joining the Nationals, DeJesus will wear uniform No. 4. Bernadina, 29, hit .178 in 85 games for Washington this season. He had been the longest-tenured player in the Nationals organization.