The Washington Nationals appear set to bring back a familiar face and insert him into an unfamiliar role.

The Nats signed left-hander John Lannan to a minor league deal with the intention of making him a submarine reliever, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports.

Lannan, 32, spent six years as a member of the Nationals' rotation from 2007-12. He was the club's Opening Day starter in 2009 and 2010, enjoying his best season in 2011 with a 10-13 record and 3.70 ERA in 33 starts. Lannan hasn't appeared in the majors since 2014, when he posted a 15.75 ERA in five games out of the New York Mets' bullpen.

The southpaw spent all of 2015 and 2016 pitching at the Triple-A level for the Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals, respectively.

For his career, Lannan has held lefties to a .268 average.

- Kyle Brasseur