The Nationals agreed to sign Chad Gaudin to a minor league deal and invited the right-hander to Spring Training, according to the team. Gaudin became a free agent after the Yankees outrighted him off of the 40-man roster last month. Agent Larry Reynolds represents Gaudin.
The 27-year-old logged 56 1/3 innings for the A's and Yankees in 2010, posting a 5.65 ERA. His strikeout (7.3 K/9) and walk (3.4 BB/9) rates were fine, but he allowed 16 homers. Gaudin allowed a career-high 45.6% fly ball rate last year and, improbably, 17.2% of those fly balls left the yard. Only three pitchers saw a higher percentage of fly balls become homers in 2010 (minimum 50 innings).
