The deal is not official, as it is pending a physical to be held Wednesday, but would include $5 million in deferred money, a recent staple of the Nationals’ more high-profile free agent signings. If all goes well and it becomes official, the deal finally grounds the former Baltimore Orioles staple after he spent this offseason in an unexpected holding pattern. Wieters’s arrival also changes the complexion of the Nationals’ winter dramatically.

Even when it became clear that Wilson Ramos and his power would head elsewhere, the Nationals did not chase Wieters with much vigor. Those inside the organization did not consider him a player worth elite, top-tier catcher money, and therefore were not willing to pay it. But given the relationship owner Ted Lerner and General Manager Mike Rizzo have with Wieters’s agent, Scott Boras, a signing never seemed out of the question entirely — if it could come at the right price.

AD

AD

That price, it turns out, was $10.5 million for one year with the potential for $21 million over two, according to a person familiar with the situation. Wieters began this offseason hunting a long-term deal for more than $10 million a year, as one of the more-accomplished catchers to hit free agency in some time. Similar players, like Brian McCann and Russell Martin, got five-year deals worth more than $80 million at similar points in their careers. With several teams needing catchers — including the Nationals — Wieters seemed likely to earn the same.

But when the market soured on big-power types like him, Wieters’s value plummeted with it. As camps opened last week, the 30-year-old remained one of the only marquee free agents unsigned, seemingly lowering his price point dramatically. The Nationals, hunting value as usual, seemed likely to pounce on him only if he came at undeniable value. He did, so they did. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports first reported that the teams were close to a deal.

What the Nationals get in Wieters is a proven all-star catcher with 20-homer power and leadership skills at a key position. Though Derek Norris is a homegrown talent, and seems like a strong bounce-back candidate after what he admits was an abysmal offensive season, Wieters brings a stronger résumé and the ability to switch hit. He is a four-time all-star with a .256 career average and two Gold Gloves. The Nationals do not value awards like those too highly when evaluating potential additions, but awards like those are not won by accident, either.

AD

AD

Health is a complicated knock against Wieters, who had Tommy John surgery in 2014, but played in at least 130 games in every season leading up to the procedure. Last year, in his first full season back, Wieters played in 124 games for the Orioles and hit .243 with 17 homers. He has a career .801 OPS against left-handed pitching and a .716 OPS against righties. That he can switch hit provides the right-handed power the Nationals need, while also giving them a potential starting eight that includes four lefties and four righties against right-handed starters. In other words, in a lineup that does not need him to carry the offensive load, Wieters provides balance.

“It looked like last year, when we played him, he was an offensive force,” said manager Dusty Baker after acknowledging the deal for Wieters was in place, pending a physical. “It gives us another big bat in the lineup, and to my understanding, he calls a good game, and handles a pitching staff well.”

But his arrival also provides complication, because Norris was set to be the Nationals’ starting catcher, and now must almost certainly move aside. The Nationals reacquired Norris for a low-level prospect earlier this winter, when it seemed like the price for Wieters would be too high. Norris once won the Nationals’ Minor League Player of the Year Award, and is a favorite among those within the organization. Now, he could become a power-hitting backup — or, perhaps, trade bait.

AD

AD

“I’m glad if this was going to happen, it happened now for [Wieters’s] sake and for Norris’s sake … because there’s always somebody out there that needs a front-line catcher,” Baker said. “We thought it would be better for [Norris] because he was here before I got here. I think Mike [Rizzo] had drafted him in the fourth round a long time ago, so it was very difficult for Mike to make this move. But Mike knows this is a business, and the business is winning, and trying to upgrade the position.”

The Nationals have a surplus of catchers now, with Wieters, Norris, Jose Lobaton and Pedro Severino all in the big league mix. Baker talked to Norris before workouts Tuesday so he would hear about Wieters from him first, not from social media. When reporters approached Norris for comment after Tuesday’s workouts, he hollered “No comment!” before smiling and taking questions. He said the Nationals did not indicate they were pursuing another catcher in the months after they traded for him, but “it’s part of the business.”

“As of now, I’m still trying to earn a job. I’m still going to fight for a starting job,” Norris said. “I don’t care if it’s Pudge Rodriguez in the prime of his career or Yadier or Matt Wieters.”

AD

AD

The White Sox have been hunting catching depth, according to multiple reports this winter, so perhaps the Nationals could use that surplus to acquire a proven closer such as David Robertson. Regardless, they must make a roster move of some kind, because their 40-man roster was filled as of Tuesday morning, with no room for Wieters or anyone else. Wieters suffered a laceration on his forearm early in the offseason, one that required stitches, according to reports. The physical on Wednesday, therefore, might assume more importance than it usually does for signings like these.

Adam Lind took the final spot on that roster last week when the Nationals signed him to a one-year deal with a mutual option for next season. After what was a slow and sometimes puzzling winter, the Nationals now look like smart shoppers, waiting out the market (and critiques of their reluctance to spend) to find a four-time all-star catcher and a .270 career hitter (Lind) who can bolster their lineup and bench. With Wieters in tow, the Nationals’ starting lineup could include Wieters, Jayson Werth, Adam Eaton, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, Daniel Murphy, and Ryan Zimmerman, with a potential bench of Norris, Lind, Stephen Drew, Chris Heisey, and one other player. The Nationals lacked lineup depth entering spring training. They do not lack depth now.