Washington Nationals Agree to Deal With Powerful, Streaky Slugger Joey Gallo

Joey Gallo, famed home-run hitter and strikeout machine, is set to join the Washington Nationals on a one-year deal following his lone campaign with the Minnesota Twins.

The Washington Nationals have agreed to sign Joey Gallo, The Washington Post's Andrew Golden first reported Tuesday afternoon.

Gallo's contract is a one-year deal worth $5 million, per Golden, plus another $1 million available in performance-based incentives. The contract is still pending a physical.

The 30-year-old corner outfielder and first baseman spent 2023 with the Minnesota Twins, hitting .177 with 21 home runs, 40 RBI, a .741 OPS and a 0.5 WAR in 111 games.

The Nationals and Joey Gallo have agreed to a one-year deal, according to multiple sources familiar. The deal is pending a physical.

Washington was in the market for a left-handed outfielder this offseason and now they have one in Gallo.

— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) January 23, 2024

Gallo first broke onto the scene with the Texas Rangers in 2015, but he did not become an everyday player until 2017. That year, Gallo hit 41 home runs with 80 RBI, and he followed up that campaign with 40 home runs and 92 RBI in 2018.

After starting 2019 red-hot en route to his first All-Star appearance – even hitting a home run in the Midsummer Classic – Gallo was shut down due to wrist surgery. He racked up 22 home runs and 49 RBI in just 70 games.

Gallo earned Gold Gloves as an outfielder in both 2020 and 2021, and he returned to the All-Star Game in 2021. The Rangers traded Gallo to the New York Yankees midway through that season, and the Yankees would trade him to the Los Angeles Dodgers midway through the next.

In his first taste of free agency, Gallo inked a one-year, $11 million deal with the Twins. His payday one year later is less than half of that mark.

Gallo has recorded 198 career home runs in 863 games played, meaning he averages 37 per 162. He also has the most strikeouts of any American League player since 2017, averaging 223 per 162 games in that span.

It takes a unique kind of hitter to post a career batting average of .197, as well as a career OPS of .789, and Gallo falls squarely into that boat. Gallo also boasts a 15.1 career WAR.

Gallo's defensive prowess has waned in recent years, but he did not make a single error in 322.0 innings at first base next year. The Nationals could utilize him at first or in left, or just slot him into a position of need at designated hitter.

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