Nationals sign Casey Janssen to 1-year, $5 million deal

The Nationals have signed reliever Casey Janssen to a one-year deal that will pay him $5 million in guaranteed money, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. The deal includes a mutual option for 2016 that is worth $7 million, as reported by Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post.

Janssen, 33, has spent his entire eight-year career with the Blue Jays, posting a 29-24 record and 3.52 ERA in 389 games (22 starts) while notching 90 saves. He has served as the team's closer for parts of each of the last three seasons, totaling sub-3.00 ERAs in the three seasons prior to last year.

Janssen has been linked to the Nationals all winter, though his signing makes more sense now that the team has traded Tyler Clippard to the Athletics in exchange for Yunel Escobar. Janssen projects as a setup man for Drew Storen in the Nats' bullpen, joining right-handers Craig Stammen and Aaron Barrett alongside southpaws Jerry Blevins and Matt Thornton in what is shaping up to be a strong Nationals' bullpen. Washington was also said to be interested in Jason Motte before he signed with the Cubs, and have been linked to Burke Badenhop and Ronald Belisario on the free-agent market.