Former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Chris Heisey signed a Minor-League contract with the Washington Nationals with a non-roster invitation to Spring Training, the club announced on Saturday.
Shortly after Andrew Friedman was hired as Dodgers president of baseball operations, he acknowledged the club would stand to gain from trading one of their outfielders.
Roughly three weeks later, the Dodgers acquired Heisey from the Cincinnati Reds.
Heisey himself later stated he was confused by the trade, but said Friedman outlined a plan and provided an explanation for the Dodgers adding to their surplus of outfielders.
Heisey began the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City and first joined the Dodgers on April 22 to start in place of Joc Pederson against San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner.
The versatile outfielder spent much of the season bouncing between Triple-A and the Majors, eventually signing with the Toronto Blue Jays in August after getting released by the Dodgers.
The Dodgers re-acquired Heisey in a trade with the Blue Jays soon after and prior to the deadline for players to remain eligible for the postseason roster with their new club.
He cleared waivers in November and elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to OKC.
In 14 games after being sent back to the Dodgers, Heisey hit .207/.342/.448. All told, he hit .182/.347/.327 with two home runs, nine RBIs, 17 strikeouts, 15 walks a .298 wOBA and 90 wRC+ in 72 plate appearances over 33 games with the Dodgers last season.
Heisey appeared in 66 games with the OKC Dodgers, batting .241/.370/.495 with 15 home runs, eight doubles and 41 RBIs. He spent four seasons playing for Dusty Baker during their time with the Reds organization.
Heisey is a lifetime .245/.301/.418 hitter, to go with a .314 wOBA and 94 wRC+ over parts of six seasons in the Majors.
