Despite down offensive year, Norris' pedigree convinced Rizzo of bounceback possibility

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - The Nationals reacquired veteran catcher Derek Norris from the Padres last week for a minor league pitcher. With the transaction, Norris returned to the club that he started out with from 2007-2011.

After being traded to Oakland in 2011 in the deal for Gio Gonzalez, Norris got into a nice groove. In 2014, he made the American League All-Star team, hitting .270 with 19 doubles, 10 homers and 55 RBIs.

In 2015, he moved to the Padres, where he connected with a career-high 33 doubles but struggled with strikeouts. In the past two seasons, Norris has struck out a combined 270 times.

But the 27-year-old Norris has also displayed power, hitting double-digit home runs in each of his last three seasons and displaying durability at the most physically demanding defensive positon, logging at least 120 games per season since 2014.

According to Baseball Prospectus, Norris ranked 10th in the majors in framing runs above average (9.2). However, last season's .186 batting average was a career low.

But president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo believes the Nationals know what they have in Norris, a player they drafted out of high school in 2007.

"When we evaluated, the skill set is still there," Rizzo said. "We like his approach at the plate. He's got a simple hitting approach that we feel we've dealt with before. We've got a history with him. We know what makes him tick. We know what motivated him and helped him in the past. (Current Nationals hitting coach) Rick Schu has dealt with him before. (Third base coach) Bobby Henley had him growing up in the minor league system for us. So we know the kid well. He's a guy who is going to leave it all on the field, and we think he's going to be a positive for us."

Rizzo said the Nats have the confidence that Norris can return to where he was in his breakout 2014 season in Oakland.

"Norris is a former All-Star that we think has bounceback potential," Rizzo said. "We know the makeup. We've loved the kid for a long time. And we're a lot deeper now at catcher than we were a couple days ago."

Norris cut his teeth in the Nationals system demonstrating that he was a solid defensive backstop with the ability to guide pitchers through the ups and downs of each game, helping them maintain focus. Rizzo sees that continuing now that the Goddard, Kansas, native is back with the Nats.

"Good pitch caller. He's become a really good framer," Rizzo said. "He's a guy that we believe he's going to have a good bounceback season."

Norris' batting average was down in 2016, including his numbers against left-handed pitchers (.203). But over the three previous seasons, he connected well versus right-handed pitchers, hitting .320, .311 and .295.

"He's always hit lefties, and for several years he was good against both," Rizzo said.

Norris' best seasons against right-handed pitchers came in 2014, when he hit .244 with five homers, and in 2015, when he hit .237 with 11 homers. He has had a combined 21 homers against right-handers the past two seasons.

The Nationals also announced last week that veteran backup catcher Jose Lobaton had agreed to terms on a contract for 2017, avoiding arbitration. So with Norris' arrival, what is in store for prospect Pedro Severino in 2017?

"Severino is a bright young prospect that's the catcher of the future here," Rizzo said. "He's got a great skill set. I love, in his short stint here, the energy, the defensive prowess and the hitting approach that he's shown. He's got a great deal of ability that is going to play well in Washington."

The Nationals also have young catching prospects Raudy Read and Spencer Kieboom on the 40-man roster.

The right-handed-hitting Norris can play first base, which allows manager Dusty Baker to give Ryan Zimmerman a day off against a left-handed starter.