"The Orioles are closing in on a minor league deal with veteran first baseman Nick Johnson that would include an invitation to spring training.

A deal could be announced as early as Thursday, an industry source said.

Johnson had his best season with the Nationals in 2006, when he put up a .290/.428/.520 line with 23 homers and 77 RBIs. He's been riddled with injuries over the past few seasons and spent the majority of last season with the Indians' Triple-A team in Columbus, Ohio, hitting .201/.316/.322 in 184 at bats.

Johnson offers another interesting option at first base, where he has a .992 career fielding percentage. He also owns a career .401 on-base percentage, a statistic that surely made him attractive to Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette."