Former Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals OF Signs Deal to Head to Japan
Former Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals outfielder Andrew Stevenson is heading to Japan for the 2024 season.
He will play with the Nippon Ham Fighters.
Per Darren Wolfson, Twins Insider, on social media:
Good guy, happy for him.
1 year with 850K guaranteed, 2025 club option included, so could turn into $2.4M over 2 years. Hard to turn down the guaranteed $$. #MNTwins
Stevenson is 29 years old but will be 30 during the course of the 2024 season. He was drafted by the Nationals in the second round of the 2015 draft out of LSU. He's appeared in the majors during parts of six seasons. He played a career-most 109 games during the 2021 season with the Nationals.
He did not play in the big leagues in 2022 but resurfaced to play 25 games for the Twins in 2023. Lifetime, he's a .243 hitter with eight homers, 50 RBI and nine stolen bases.
If he's able to put together a strong season in Japan, he could be looking at a stateside return in 2025.
As Stevenson departs the Twins, they'll be looking to figure out their outfield situation next year as well. They are hopeful about a return to defensive work for Byron Buxton and could also have an opening out there if they trade Max Kepler.
Furthermore, former Gold Glove winner Michael A. Taylor is a free agent, which could complicate the outfield situation further.
The Twins won the American League Central last year but were eliminated in the ALDS by the Astros.
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