Nationals decline $4 million mutual option on Adams

By Mark Zuckerman

Nationals

November 01, 2019, 2:16pm

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The offseason waits for no one, not even the World Series champions. So even as they finalize plans for Saturday's parade and Monday's White House visit, the Nationals still had to make the first of many key baseball decisions that loom this winter.

The club declined its portion of a $4 million mutual option for the 2020 season on first baseman Matt Adams, electing instead to pay the veteran slugger a $1 million buyout and thus making him a free agent.

The Nationals could still re-sign Adams at some point, and they'll likely want to have a left-handed first baseman on the roster to share the job with Ryan Zimmerman (who is expected to have his $18 million club option declined but renegotiate a lesser deal).

Adams was a key presence in the lineup for much of the regular season, hitting .226 with 20 homers, 56 RBIs and a .741 OPS over 333 plate appearances. But the 31-year-old missed time in September with a sprained shoulder and spent most of the postseason parked on the bench.

With Zimmerman healthy and productive and starting 15 of 17 postseason games at first base, Adams received only four plate appearances in October, all as a pinch-hitter. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.