WASHINGTON — Former Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond has nearly completed his redemption tale.
Desmond notoriously left a seven-year, $107 million extension offer from the Nationals on the table prior to the start of the 2014 season, a deal which would have paid him an additional $90 million on top of what he was already set to earn.
Desmond’s numbers continued a downward slide that next season, with his batting average dipping 25 points from 2013 to 2014 as his strikeout total continued to rise.
The following season — his last with the Nationals — Desmond’s numbers suffered further. In his walk year, he posted career lows in batting average (.233) and on-base percentage (.290), and found himself third in the league in strikeouts with 187.
Read: Desmond Looks Back on Time in D.C.
It was the worst possible time to reach the nadir of his career, and when framed in the context of a three-year downward trend, Desmond surely wouldn’t come close to reaching that $90-million figure once he hit free agency.
And he didn’t. After spending nearly the entire offseason without a team, Desmond signed a one-year prove-it type deal with the Texas Rangers for $8 million, and there lied another challenge ahead: He would have to change positions. Desmond was now a center fielder.
Read: Desmond On Coping With Failure
In a new city and position, Desmond flopped out of the gate, hitting .229 with three homers and 21 strikeouts during his first month in Arlington. Then he absolutely erupted. Desmond hit .345 and slugged .555 with four homers and 22 RBI in May, a reversal so stark his name was now being mentioned in the All-Star conversation (he ultimately made the team). On the season, Desmond hit .285 with 22 home runs and 86 RBI.
More great news for fans of Ian Desmond: On Wednesday, he reached five-year agreement with the Colorado Rockies, who will pay him a reported $70 million to hit bombs all over Coors Field. Between Texas and Colorado, Desmond will recover all but $12 million from the Nats deal he declined three offseasons ago.
His redemption tale is nearly complete. But not without another challenge: He’ll likely be learning yet another new position.
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