Jackson a National

Pitcher Edwin Jackson, who had reportedly been offered a contract by the Boston Red Sox, agreed yesterday to a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals.

The team said the agreement is pending a physical. The deal is worth in the range of $9 million to $12 million.

A 28-year-old right-hander, Jackson was 12-9 with a 3.79 ERA last season for the Chicago White Sox and World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, who acquired him on July 27. He walked seven in a Game 4 loss at the World Series, the most in a Series outing in 14 years.

He pitched a no-hitter for Arizona at Tampa Bay on June 25, 2010, when he walked eight, one shy of the record for a no-hitter.

He has already pitched for six teams in a nine-year career, in which he is 60-60 with a 4.46 ERA in 203 games (173 starts).

Attempting to strengthen its pitching during the offseason, Washington has seven candidates for its starting rotation, a group that includes holdovers Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, John Lannan, Chien-Ming Wang and Ross Detwiler, along with Jackson and Gio Gonzalez, acquired from Oakland in December.