Nationals announce deal with free-agent catcher Wieters

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Matt Wieters said he managed to cut his left wrist severely by breaking a five-gallon glass water container in his garage on Nov. 1, delaying his offseason preparation — and, he thinks, his chance to find a deal in free agency.

“It’s tough finding a team when you can’t do anything baseball-related,” Wieters said Friday, when the catcher took batting practice and ran conditioning sprints at spring training with the Washington Nationals after his signing was announced. “They told me I was very lucky that it wasn’t worse than it was.”

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Wieters agreed to a $21 million, two-year deal worth $10.5 million annually, one that gives him the right to terminate the agreement after this season and become a free agent again. It includes $2.5 million each year in deferred salary.

Now the obstacle for Wieters is getting up to speed with the reigning NL East champions’ pitching staff. The Nationals’ first exhibition game is Saturday against the division rival New York Mets.

“There’s definitely enough time,” Wieters said. “As a catcher, I’d love to have as much as possible. Being able to listen (to the pitchers) and how they pitch will help me out a lot.”

He joins a crowded clubhouse of catchers. Jose Lobaton and Pedro Severino played in Washington last season, and the club traded for San Diego’s Derek Norris. In all, there are six catchers on the 40-man roster. General manager Mike Rizzo described Wieters as “a leader in the clubhouse and on the field” for the Baltimore Orioles, the only major league club the four-time AllStar has played for until now.

Wieters, 30, has a .256 career batting average with 117 homers and 437 RBIs over eight seasons. Last year, he hit .244 with 17 homers and 66 RBIs in 124 games