A deal between the Washington Nationals and free agent Adam LaRoche wasn’t in place as of early Monday evening, but one person with knowledge of the talks said confidence is growing on both sides that the first baseman will end up in D.C.

“It’s such a good match,” the source said.

The Nationals covet LaRoche’s left-handed bat as a way to replace Adam Dunn. LaRoche is the best all-around hitter among the available free-agent first basemen, left-handed or otherwise.

Similarly, the Nationals represent the best fit for LaRoche in the National League, where he has played for all but six games of his big-league career.

LaRoche is coming off a season in which he batted .261 with 25 home runs and 100 RBI in 151 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

— Jon Paul Morosi