Nationals' Colin Poche: Signs with Washington as NRI

The Nationals signed Poche to a minor-league contract Friday that includes an invitation to spring training, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

It's a bit of a surprise that Poche had to settle for a minor-league deal, as the left-hander has collected a 3.27 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 158:59 K:BB over 156.2 innings across the last three seasons. He has a good chance to make the Opening Day roster and could even get high-leverage opportunities in a Nationals bullpen that lacks established arms.