Back in 2009, after Washington signed veteran catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez to a 2-year/$6M free agent deal.
General Manager Mike Rizzo talked about Rodriguez providing a bridge to their next generation of backstops.
"We thought we needed a veteran presence behind the plate, with the young pitching staff and a young prospect catcher in Jesus Flores,” Rizzo explained in an interview on Sirius/XM radio, as quoted by D.C. Sports Bog writer Dan Steinberg.
“We thought that we needed some veteran leadership, a guy who could mentor a staff.
“And to get him on a two-year deal kind of gives us a timetable to get our other catching prospect, Derek Norris, into the big leagues.