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Matt Stairs returns to his original team at age 43 … sort of
Way back in 1989 the Montreal Expos signed a Canadian-born infielder named Matt Stairs as an undrafted free agent.
In the two-plus decades since then Stairs has played more than 1,800 games in the majors for a dozen different teams while becoming baseball’s all-time leader in pinch-hit homers and the Expos have moved to Washington and become the Nationals.
And today Stairs signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals, which means he’s technically returning to his original organization.
Stairs is basically purely a bench player at this point, starting a total of just 30 games in the past two seasons, but even at age 43 he still has plenty of power after slugging .475 with six homers in 99 at-bats for the Padres.
He’s also universally regarded as a great teammate, so whether or not he ends up making the Opening Day roster the Nationals no doubt hope Stairs can have a positive influence on 18-year-old Bryce Harper during spring training.
-HBT
