Report: Nationals ink pitcher Dan Cortes

By Pete Kerzel

Nationals

January 04, 2012, 9:42am

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According to this tweet from Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, the Nationals have signed right-hander Dan Cortes, who has pitched in the majors during parts of two seasons with the Mariners. The 24-year-old Cortes was originally a seventh-round pick by the White Sox in 2005, and was then traded to the Royals in July 2006 in a deal for reliever Mike MacDougal and dealt to the Mariners in July 2009 in a swap for shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt. Cortes reached the majors in 2010 with Seattle, going 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in four relief outings. In 2011, he got into 10 games with the Mariners, posting an 0-2 record and 5.91 ERA. In seven minor league seasons, he's 38-46 with a 4.30 ERA in 181 games, including 121 starts. Last year was his first as a full-time reliever, and the 6-foot-6, 23-pounder was 1-2 with a 5.08 ERA in 32 aappearances. He was non-tendered by the Mariners last month. No word whether he gets a major or minor league deal, but at this point in the offseason, it's a better bet that it's a minor league contract with a spring training invite.