Report: Mariners agree to minor-league deal with Werth

The Seattle Mariners have added another veteran outfielder, reportedly agreeing to a minor-league contract with former All-Star outfielder Jayson Werth, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

Manager Scott Servais told Greg Johns of MLB.com that Werth will participate in extended spring training at the Mariners' Arizona complex before reporting to Triple-A Tacoma.

The 38-year-old Werth just completed a seven-year, $126-million contract with the Washington Nationals. While he was productive during several of his seasons in the nation's capital and emerged as a fan favorite, he's struggled to stay on the field in recent seasons amid injury troubles. A foot issue limited Werth to 70 games in 2017, where he hit .226/.322/.393 (84 OPS+) with 10 homers, 10 doubles, and 29 RBIs. He was just 3-for-18 during the Nats' NLDS loss to the Cubs.

Werth is trying to get back to the majors for what would be a 16th big-league season. The former first-round pick owns a career slash line of .267/.360/.455 with 229 homers, 300 doubles, and 132 stolen bases across 1,583 games with four teams. He was a critical part of the Philadelphia Phillies' World Series championship team in 2008, and was an All-Star in 2009.

Seattle is hoping that Werth's presence in the system will boost the depth of an outfield corps that's been hit hard by the injury bug this spring. Ben Gamel, who was the team's likely Opening Day left fielder, will instead begin the season on the disabled list with an oblique strain suffered early in camp.

Future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki rejoined the Mariners to serve as Gamel's replacement, but he was hit in the head by a pitch during a minor-league spring game Friday. While Servais previously said he was hopeful that Ichiro will be ready for their March 29 season opener, Greg Johns of MLB.com reported Tuesday that the 44-year-old Mariners legend's status remains unclear.