Nationals agree to terms with 1B Adam LaRoche on two-year contract

By Lindsay Rykiel

Nationals

January 07, 2011, 10:48am

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Left-handed slugger has hit 20-plus homers each of last six seasons. The Washington Nationals today agreed to terms with free-agent first baseman Adam LaRoche on a two-year contract. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. LaRoche is a career .271 (933-for-3437) hitter with 242 doubles, 161 home runs and 569 RBI in 989 big league games. In seven campaigns with Arizona, Atlanta, Boston and Pittsburgh, LaRoche has posted an .827 OPS thanks to career on-base and slugging percentages of .339 and .488, respectively. LaRoche is one of just five big leaguers to have hit 20-plus home runs as a first baseman each of the last six seasons. He is joined on this list by Albert Pujols, Mark Teixeira, Paul Konerko and Ryan Howard. LaRoche has also legged out 30 or more doubles five straight years. Last season, in arguably his finest offensive effort to date, LaRoche reached the 100-RBI plateau for the first time, hitting .261 with 37 doubles and 25 home runs and 100 RBI for the Diamondbacks. The 31 year-old LaRoche has played in at least 140 games five of his six complete big league seasons. He played in 150 and 151 contests each of the last two campaigns, respectively.