Fly-catcher Denard Span is now a National. (Getty Images)

The Nationals have announced they've acquired outfielder Denard Span from the Twins in exchange for minor league right-hander Alex Meyer.

The lefty-swinging Span, 28, is coming off a season in which he put up an OPS of .738 and tallied 38 doubles and 17 steals. He also profiles as an outstanding defensive center fielder. Span will earn $4.75 million next season and $6.5 million in 2014. His contract also calls for a $9 millon salary or $500,000 buyout for 2015.

The addition of Span almost certainly means free-agent first baseman Adam LaRoche won't be back in Washington. Span will man center, meaning Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth will occupy the corners and Michael Morse will slide into LaRoche's vacated position. While Morse doesn't have LaRoche's glove, these moving pieces mean the Nats figure to have one of the best defensive outfields in all of baseball. That could be especially valuable to a Nats staff that ranked fourth in the NL last season in fly-ball percentage.

On the Twins' side of things, Meyer, a 22-year-old former first-rounder out of the University of Kentucky, is coming off a season in which he posted a 2.86 ERA in 129.0 innings (139 strikeouts, 45 walks) between Low-A Hagerstown and High-A Potomac. Meyer also played in the Futures Game in Kansas City during All-Star Weekend.

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