Brett Lawrie Not Yet Ready To Pursue New Contract
Infielder Brett Lawrie, who reached the open market when he was released recently by the White Sox, is not going to sign in the immediate future, according to a statement issued by his agent, Joe Urbon of CAA Baseball (via Jim Boweden of ESPN.com). Lawrie will instead first complete his rehab before seeking a new organization.
According to the statement, Lawrie “still has minor soft-tissue discomfort in his lower body.” Urbon says that the issue arose as “a result of the orthotics [Lawrie] was given last year.” The infielder has previously discussed that matter, saying at the time that he felt he was on track to return to full strength.
While Urbon says that Lawrie is “responding well to his current course of treatment,” he adds that his client is “intent on getting to 100 percent health before signing with a new organization.” It’s not immediately clear just how much of a delay that stance could cause, or what course his camp is planning. It’s certainly possible, though, that Lawrie will rest up and re-start his training, perhaps even working out for interested teams before agreeing to a new deal.
From a strategic perspective, perhaps there’s reason to believe this approach will help Lawrie wait out an attractive opportunity. There has been some initial interest in the veteran, who has long played third base and spent most of his time more recently at second. But it’s far from clear whether he’d be able to earn more than an opportunity to earn a reserve or platoon role at this stage.
Looking at things from a somewhat broader perspective, Lawrie only turned 27 in January, so it probably won’t hurt for him to take some time plotting the next phase of his career. He has not yet quite lived up to the high hopes placed upon him early on, and hasn’t produced enough to merit regular playing time, but he’s also undoubtedly a useful player. Over the past six seasons, Lawrie owns a .261/.315/.419 batting line (101 OPS+) and has rarely strayed too far from the mean offensively. He’s a good baserunner who once rated as an elite defender at third, though metrics have soured on his glovework more recently.
Latest On Angel Pagan
We’ve heard mostly crickets on the market for veteran outfielder Angel Pagan, who turned in a strong bounceback year in 2016 (.277/.331/.418 with 12 home runs and 15 stolen bases) but remains unsigned with camp well underway. MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently looked at the possible landing spots for the 35-year-old Pagan, who has been linked at least loosely to teams such as the Nationals, Blue Jays, and (quite a ways back) Orioles.
Here’s the latest on his situation:
- On hand to face his old Giants club as a member of team Puerto Rico, Pagan spoke with reporters including MLB.com’s Chris Haft (links to Twitter). He says that he has only been offered minor-league deals, which obviously haven’t held appeal. “I just don’t feel I need to be fighting for a job,” he said. “If a team wants me to help a team win, they know I can help them win.” Pagan added that he’s healthy and certainly suggested he’s still hoping to find a place to play in 2017. “They’ll see it in the [World] Baseball Classic,” he said.
Earlier Updates
- The Braves have made Pagan an offer, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter), but it was of the minor-league variety. Understandably, Pagan is looking for a MLB roster spot, according to the report. While that’s not surprising, given his solid work last year and long history as a semi-regular player, it remains to be seen whether such an opportunity will arise.
- For the time being, at least, Pagan seems willing to wait and see whether he does find a 40-man spot. His agent Greg Genske tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links) that Pagan is currently focused on preparing to play in the World Baseball Classic with Puerto Rico. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how he performs, and whether or not that may have some impact on the interest level around the league.
- That said, Genske notes that Pagan “has received several offers from clubs during the off-season and since start of spring training.” To date, the agent adds, he “has not yet found the right fit.” Whether that’s his way of saying that MLB offers haven’t been forthcoming, or whether Pagan is heavily weighing other factors (money, role, location, etc.), isn’t immediately clear. All told, though, it seems reasonable to expect that some organization will find enough of a need — whether due to injury or reevaluation of internal options — to offer Pagan at least a reserve/platoon job with some amount of guaranteed money.
West Notes: CarGo, Skaggs, Pujols, Doolittle, Casilla
Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post breaks down where things stand between the Rockies and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez in response to a fan inquiry. Noting that the sides haven’t engaged in further talks about an extension, Saunders says that he’s “not sure if the Rockies are willing to compete with top dollars [from free agency next winter] to extend him.” If no new deal is in the offing, the club will presumably wait to see how the season plays out to determine its next steps; Gonzalez could be dangled at the deadline or potentially receive a qualifying offer at year end.
Here are a few more notes from out west:
- Angels lefty Tyler Skaggs will have his next outing delayed after experiencing “a little weakness in [his] shoulder,” Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The young southpaw turned in a shaky performance in his first start of the spring; today’s news, perhaps, offers either an explanation or renewed cause for some concern. While it’s too early to know whether this is anything more than a blip, Skaggs’s injury history suggests it’s worth keeping an eye on. He showed plenty of promise upon his return to competitive pitching last year, but his ability to stay healthy and continue developing remains of critical importance to the Halos in 2017.
- The Angels will welcome back first baseman/DH Albert Pujols soon, however, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group tweets. After running the bases over the next two days, the veteran slugger is expected to appear for the first time this spring on Friday. That suggests it’s plenty possible that Pujols will be ready to go in time for Opening Day, though he’ll obviously need to maintain the health of his surgically repaired plantar fascia over the next few weeks.
- Two notable members of the Athletics pen are moving toward game readiness, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. Southpaw Sean Doolittle and righty Santiago Casilla are throwing live BP sessions today and tomorrow, respectively, setting them up to appear in Cactus League action sooner rather than later. Doolittle and Casilla currently project to function as the club’s top two setup men, though either could also conceivably wrestle closing opportunities away from Ryan Madson.
AL East Notes: Alvarez, Tillman, Britton, Price, Sandoval
Meanwhile, the Orioles are engineering a position change for former outfielder Dariel Alvarez, as Meoli further reports. The live-armed 28-year-old will go to minor-league camp and hopefully earn a job in the low minors as a reliever. Baltimore has had success with such transitions in the past, having done the same with current MLB hurler Mychal Givens — which also provides the team with a blueprint for Alvarez. While Alvarez will continue to spend some time working on his bat — he fell off in the power department last year but has been productive at times in the upper minors — the focus will turn to the mound. The timing of the move was driven by Alvarez’s contract situation, manage Buck Showalter suggested. “[L]ooking at the landscape, we don’t want his optionable status to come and go,” said Showalter. “Someone is going to do this at some point. We’ve got this year and next year to option him. Perfect world, he’s knocking on the door as a pitcher next year.”
Here’s more from the AL East:
- Key Orioles hurlers Chris Tillman (shoulder) and Zach Britton (oblique) appear to be progressing as hoped. As Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun tweets, the pair of hurlers just completed bullpens without issue, though it’s still not known when they’ll be ready for competitive action. Needless to say, the O’s are counting heavily on both pitchers, and will hope to see them take the mound in a spring contest sooner than later. For the time being, though, it’s encouraging that they’re continuing to maintain forward momentum.
- Much the same situation holds true with regard to Red Sox southpaw David Price, who recently was diagnosed with a flexor strain and bone spurs. While it has only been a few days, he could be ready to throw again as soon as Friday if he feels up to it, manager John Farrell told reporters including Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). It still seems hard to imagine that Price will be able to ramp up in time to be ready for Opening Day — at least, while maintaining a sufficiently cautious approach — but the Red Sox are no doubt concerned more with avoiding any hiccups on his way back.
- The Red Sox aren’t yet ready to declare Pablo Sandoval the starting third baseman, but Silverman argues the team ought to go ahead and acknowledge that fact. While the club couldn’t have been sure what it would see from Sandoval this spring, he has not only shown up in shape but has provided evidence that he’s ready to return to being an effective player. Whether Farrell is using the situation to maintain motivation, or has other reasons, he’s not ready to say that Sandoval has regained his job at the hot corner. And that’s just fine with Sandoval, who says that’s not his primary objective. “I do have goals, but my goals are to be healthy,” Sandoval tells Silverman. “If I’m healthy and continue to work, I think I can help my team win games.”
Quick Hits: Scouting Changes, Data Sources, Pitching Strategy
It has been a quiet few days in the transactional world, but there are plenty of interesting things being written with possible implications for the player market. Here are a few pieces well worth a read:
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law (Insider link) takes a look at players who entered camp with notable tweaks to their respective games, rounding up the impressions of scouts from around the game. Diamondbacks righty Taijuan Walker is said to have impressed with his latest mechanical overhaul, and he’s showing improved fastball command along with a sharper cut fastball. For White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, the change has come more on the mental side; it seems he’s improving his ability to recognize pitches and decide whether to swing. The results haven’t been all that promising for Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward, Law suggests, who still seems to lack bat speed despite a newly reworked swing.
- R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports writes about the sources of the data that we read so much about. Beyond the obvious and well-known sources, there’s also a cottage industry of individuals and small companies who sell various kinds of information to ballclubs. While burgeoning in-house analytical departments have obviated the need for certain third-party services, the appetite for data has led to new avenues. It’s a fascinating and lengthy look at this important topic that you’ll want to read in full.
- With research from Willie Harrison and John Salmon suggesting that the home-team advantage shows up most prominently in the poor performances of visiting starters in the first inning, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs examines the possible implications. Cameron suggests that there could be merit to the idea of utilizing a reliever to throw an inning to open games for visiting teams, before turning things over to the “starter” in the bottom of the second. While that’d be a tough strategy to implement over most of the season, it could be of greater function when rosters expand or during the postseason.
- For individual pitchers, we know that stuff doesn’t always equate to results. Eno Sarris of Fangraphs addresses that general topic by looking closely at the differing 2016 seasons put up by Reds pitchers Cody Reed and Dan Straily (the latter of whom has since been traded to the Marlins). Sarris’s breakdown suggests that predictability — or, the lack thereof — is an important ingredient for a major league pitcher, regardless of what kind of raw offerings he possesses. For Straily, being able to throw offspeed pitches for strikes in hitters’ counts last year was an important part of his renaissance. In Reed’s case, Sarris discovers, he relied too heavily not just on his fastball, but in throwing it to a certain spot (outer half). Be sure to check out the full piece for all the details and nuance in the analysis.
MLBTR Poll: Who’ll Sign Doug Fister?
Needless to say, veteran righty Doug Fister didn’t have the platform year he hoped for. He managed only a 4.64 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and an uncharacteristically high 3.1 BB/9 last year for the Astros. He also hasn’t quite maintained his once-excellent groundball induction rates. But he did turn in 32 starts, and provide 180 1/3 innings, after two straight seasons in which he faced some limitations. And he was also able to boost his velocity somewhat; though it still fell shy of his already-low career peak, at least Fister showed that he wasn’t set to fall off a cliff in the velo department.
All in all, the table seemed to be set for another pillow contract. After all, though he also produced uninspiring results in 2015, Fister landed in the top ten of the National League Cy Young voting in the season prior. From the start of his career in 2009, though that top-quality 2014 campaign, Fister had contribute nearly one thousand innings of 3.34 ERA pitching. The track record, in other words, still seems good enough to warrant a major league opportunity.
Still, business has been slow all winter for the 6’8 right-hander. There was chatter at times about teams with interest — the Marlins, Pirates, Mariners, Padres, and Royals all reportedly had some connection to Fister — though momentum never seemed to develop. AteR this point, it’s not even clear whether he has received any MLB offers, let alone whether there’d still be one available now, with camp well underway.
Unless there’s some unreported inkling of retirement, it still seems likely that Fister will land somewhere over the next few weeks. Perhaps he’s waiting to see whether a golden opportunity develops due to injury; perhaps he’s still hoping a team steps forward with an appealing guarantee.
Let’s see what the MLBTR readership thinks about how things will shake out. In lining up the best suitors for a poll, we’ll assume that Fister is looking for a clear rotation spot and we won’t guess at any new injuries. Here goes (in alphabetical order):
Padres — While the team has added several veteran hurlers already, and proceeded to sign Jered Weaver after the point of the reported interest in Fister, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a possible fit. If nothing else, it’d be interesting to see the club fill its staff out entirely with free agents signed to one year deals. At this point, the interest level likely comes down to whether the team has enough interest in giving a shot to an in-house option such as Christian Friedrich, Tyrell Jenkins, or Zach Lee.
Reds — Likewise, though Cincinnati is said to be finished giving out MLB deals, this rotation won’t be finished until the deadline for submitting Opening Day rosters … and will likely change quite a bit thereafter. There’s arguably greater uncertainty in the Reds’ staff than even the Padres’ at this stage, with pitchers such as Tim Adleman, Robert Stephenson, and a variety of other younger pitchers duking it out with grizzled veteran Bronson Arroyo to establish places in the pecking order. At least two spots seem up for grabs; if the Reds don’t feel comfortable with any of their internal possibilities, it’s easy to imagine a pivot to Fister.
Pirates — This seems fairly unlikely, but perhaps there’s some daylight still for the Bucs to take on their latest reclamation project. There’s probably a reason it hasn’t happened already, but Pittsburgh could perhaps still reconsider the options on hand. Drew Hutchison has hardly guranteed himself a roster spot based on his recent track record, and the organization’s series of promising youngsters — highlighted by Tyler Glasnow — might be deemed best kept at Triple-A to open the season.
Rangers — Similarly, it’s a bit of a strain to see the Rangers lining up with Fister at this point. The club already added Andrew Cashner and the recovering Tyson Ross to join A.J. Griffin in the mix at the back of the rotation. But Cashner has experienced biceps soreness while Griffin has struggled early in camp, and it’s not clear whether the team wants to rely too much on Dillon Gee (who had offseason surgery) or one of its unestablished youngsters. That leaves a bit of room to imagine something coming together on Fister, though perhaps the Rangers would first consider the familiar Colby Lewis.
Rockies — Colorado doesn’t seem inclined to pursue an alternative route, but the organization remains hard to predict from the outside. Fister could make a great deal of sense, if the Rox come to believe that none of their top young arms — primarily, Jeff Hoffman, but also German Marquez or Kyle Freeland — is prepared to be leaned upon for the span of the season. If that’s the case, and Jordan Lyles isn’t deemed an adequate fill-in, then perhaps the towering sinkerballer could make sense.
Yankees — The Yanks might make better sense than any other team in baseball, if the team has some added funds to spare. With two rotation spots up for grabs, the club is hardly in sure hands. Adam Warren is a veteran option, but hasn’t had much recent success, while Luis Severino has gobs of talent but struggled last year. Other options — Chad Green, Luis Cessa, and Bryan Mitchell — have hardly staked obvious claims to a starting gig. With that much uncertainty, bringing on an established veteran could add some stability while also deepening the overall unit entering the season.
It’s certainly possible to imagine other teams — say, the Tigers, White Sox, Angels, Twins, Athletics, Brewers, Phillies, or Red Sox — emerging with interest.But in each of those cases, I think, it would likely require an injury or a major change of heart on an internal option to lead to an agreement. Certainly, there would be others if Fister is willing to head to the pen to function as a swingman. So, that’s my list, but feel free to debate alternatives in the comments.
Where do you think Fister will end up? (Link for app users.)
Who'll Sign Doug Fister?
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Other 32% (1,840)
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Yankees 23% (1,332)
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Padres 12% (695)
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Pirates 11% (616)
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Reds 9% (534)
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Rangers 7% (388)
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Rockies 5% (308)
Total votes: 5,713
NL Central Notes: Uehara, Gyorko, Reds
Cubs reliever Koji Uehara told reporters on Tuesday that after spending 10 seasons as a pro in Japan, he hopes to pitch a total of 10 years in America as well (via Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune). That’d mean another two years for Uehara in the Majors, as he’s currently spent the past eight seasons pitching in Major League Baseball. Considering Uehara’s recent track record, there’s little reason to consider that goal unrealistic. While the 2016 season was a down year by his standards, Uehara still managed a 3.45 ERA with 12.1 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 across 47 innings with the Red Sox. It should be noted that the 41-year-old Uehara (42 in April) didn’t expressly rule out pitching beyond a 10th Major League season.
Elsewhere in the NL Central…
- Jedd Gyorko isn’t certain where he’ll be playing on a day to day basis in 2017, but Cardinals manager Mike Matheny tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the slugging utility infielder will have the opportunity to pick up plenty of at-bats. “I think right now it’s compete for lots of playing time,” said the skipper. “So we’re still in that same mode, and we’ll decide when we break with our club what roles look like.” Gyorko, who started 25+ games at second base, shortstop and third base last year, tells Goold that he dropped some weight in an effort to improve his range and increase the value of his newfound versatility. He also notes that so long as the Cardinals are winning, his own placement on the diamond/in the lineup is secondary. “I could be selfish and demand that I play every day and if I don’t then say I want to be traded,” says Gyorko. “That’s not who I am. That’s not who I want to be.” Gyorko will compete with Jhonny Peralta for at-bats at third base and can also play each other infield slot.
- Bronson Arroyo and Devin Mesoraco appeared in an intrasquad game for the Reds on Tuesday, writes MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. While Arroyo’s velocity in his one-inning, 15-pitch outing was around 83 mph, the 40-year-old is a bit behind after missing a week due to a stomach virus. Arroyo said he’s relieved, as his arm was already in “severe pain” around this stage last season (when a shoulder injury cut his spring short). His next outing will be a two-inning stint in a Cactus League game, per Sheldon, while manager Bryan Price said that Mesoraco could be in a Cactus League lineup by Sunday. Mesoraco admitted to feeling a bit rusty from a baseball standpoint but said that he felt good from a health perspective.
Tigers Notes: Center Field, Martinez, Catcher
Center field has been a question mark for the Tigers since trading Cameron Maybin to the Angels on the first day of the offseason, and to this point, the most logical scenario has looked to be a platoon between the out-of-options Tyler Collins and trade pickup Mikie Mahtook. Anthony Gose was previously outrighted off the 40-man roster — though he remains in the organization — and although JaCoby Jones was a frequently mentioned candidate, he’s still rather inexperienced at the position after shifting there from shortstop. Nonetheless, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweeted today that Detroit manager Brad Ausmus offered high praise for Jones’ glovework thus far in camp and characterized him as a legitimate candidate to land the job. That said, Fenech also tweets that scouts have told him that the Tigers are continuing to monitor other teams in search of potential center field alternatives to their in-house candidates.
A bit more on the Tigers…
- Right fielder J.D. Martinez tells MLB.com’s Jason Beck that he was “really bothered” by the precipitous drop-off in his defensive ratings from 2015 to 2016. Martinez went from a Gold Glove finalist with very sound grades from Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved (in 2015) to one of the worst defensive outfielders in all of Major League Baseball in the estimation of those same metrics just one year later. Beck points out, though, that Martinez’s outfield assist total plummeted from 15 to three, while his error total rose (despite tallying fewer innings). Martinez expressed frustration with the downturn and said he’s placed an increased emphasis on his defense in an attempt to rebuild his reputation in the outfield. While the slugger did acknowledge that defensive prowess is becoming an increasingly important factor in free agency — and Martinez will hit the open market next winter — he stressed that his focus on improving his defense is to help the Tigers’ 2017 performance.
- Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com writes that the Tigers are looking to add some more catching depth and wonders if their recent back-to-back pair of games with the Phillies could offer a potential solution. Salisbury notes that the Phillies have a number of catching options in camp, including veteran Ryan Hanigan, whom the Tigers saw quite a bit when he started consecutive games against them this week. Former Tiger Bryan Holaday is also vying to be the backup to Cameron Rupp in Philadelphia, as are younger options Andrew Knapp and Logan Moore (though Knapp isn’t considered a trade candidate). James McCann and Alex Avila are currently lined up to be the primary backstops for Detroit in 2017, with minor league veteran John Hicks also on the 40-man roster as a Triple-A depth option. Barring an injury to McCann or Avila, I’d imagine that any catching addition would be Triple-A bound himself, though certainly there’s value in accruing additional depth at a thin position.
Injury Notes: Travis, Kazmir, Dodgers, Carpenter, Rojas
The Blue Jays aren’t sure when second baseman Devon Travis will be ready to return to game action, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Manager John Gibbons seemed to suggest to Nicholson-Smith that the club could be without Travis, come Opening Day, as the 26-year-old’s recovery from knee surgery has been slower than the team expected. “To be honest I don’t know when he’s going to be back and ready to go,” said Gibbons. “It’s one of those things where if it costs him a couple of weeks, or whatever it might be, at the beginning of the season, so be it. … I expected him, to be honest, to be a little further along than he is.” As Nicholson-Smith points out, that could prove advantageous for out-of-options infielder Ryan Goins, who could break camp with the team if Travis ultimately starts the year on the disabled list. Goins and Darwin Barney, then, would presumably be the Jays’ primary options at second base, although Toronto has also been linked to Brett Lawrie since his surprising release by the White Sox last week.
More injury news from around the league…
- Scott Kazmir‘s MRI revealed no signs of a serious injury in his problematic left hip, as ESPN’s Doug Padilla writes. Kazmir exited yesterday’s Cactus League start after throwing his first pitch of the second inning and expressed frustration about his hip following the game. It’s not clear when Kazmir will return to a mound for the Dodgers just yet, Padilla adds, though the 33-year-old told the media that he’s pain free and is only experiencing limited mobility.
- First baseman Matt Carpenter will be out for “at least another week” due to lower back tightness that has sidelined him since last Wednesday, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. Carpenter, who will slide across the diamond for the Cardinals this season (with Jhonny Peralta manning third base), was forced to withdraw from the 2017 World Baseball Classic due to his back troubles.
- Dodgers non-roster invitee Henry Ramos will be out for a considerably longer amount of time (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick). Manager Dave Roberts revealed to the media on Tuesday that the soon-to-be 25-year-old outfielder will miss the next four to six weeks of action due to a sports hernia/right groin injury. Ramos, who batted .263/.306/.402 between Boston’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates last season, wasn’t likely to crack Los Angeles’ roster anyhow, of course, but he’ll now be delayed in beginning his minor league campaign as well.
- Marlins infielder Miguel Rojas was forced to exit Tuesday’s Grapefruit League game after being struck in the head on a throw down to second base from catcher Tomas Telis, writes Glenn Sattell of MLB.com. As Rojas explains the situation, the grass in front of second base was “really wet,” which caused Telis’ throw following a wild pitch to take an unexpected hop upon bouncing. “I wasn’t expecting the ball to go that high,” said Rojas. “I’m glad I could quickly turn my head. It hit me in the [side of the head] instead of my eye.” Rojas will undergo concussion testing after telling the training staff that he was “feeling a little dizzy and uncomfortable.”
NL East Notes: Halladay, Phils, Harvey, Scherzer, Lee
Roy Halladay is in camp with the Phillies as a special guest instructor this week and tells Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com that he’s enjoying his time working with the team’s younger pitchers. Halladay, who also coaches his son’s 12-U team and his other son’s varsity high school team, seems to enjoy passing his knowledge on to younger arms but tells Lawrence that he’s not yet sure if this current position will lead to a more permanent role with the Phillies organization. “I think that’s something we’re still talking about,” the former Cy Young winner tells Lawrence. “There are all kinds of options. … I’m going to enjoy this first week here, being a guest coach, and see where things go. We’ll continue talking, but, you know, I think it’s always trying to find a good fit, too.” Young Philadelphia righty Jake Thompson lauded Halladay’s baseball acumen and explained to Lawrence that he and the team’s other young arms relish the opportunity to learn from one of the best arms of the past generation.
Here’s more from the NL East…
- The Phillies may have hoped that Thompson (wrist) and fellow righty Zach Eflin (knee) were a bit further along in their injury rehab timelines by this point, but at least the club is seeing progress, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Both are throwing live BP sessions, with the possibility of reaching game readiness by next week. Eflin says he’s feeling stronger than ever as he continues working back from surgery to both knees, while Thompson says he’s healthy but is “still knocking off a little rust.” It remains to be seen whether either will be ready to open the season on time, but surely both are destined for Triple-A regardless.
- Matt Harvey‘s spring debut for the Mets didn’t go as hoped, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes. There’s little reason to get too caught up in the uninspiring results, of course, particularly since Harvey says he was dealing with a stiff neck. (That could be its own source of concern, though it sounds as if it’s just a low-level problem and Harvey expects to make his next start.) The bigger concern, perhaps, is that Harvey was limited to working in the low-90s with his fastball. That, too, can be chalked up to the neck along with the fact that Harvey is still dialing in his mechanics after a long layoff. Club sources tell Ackert they don’t want the prized righty to come out of the gates too quickly anyway.
- Nationals ace Max Scherzer felt good in a live BP session today, as Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com reports. The veteran righty is still using a three-fingered fastball grip to protect his injured finger, but that doesn’t seem to be slowing him down. Scherzer worked up to 44 pitches in the session, so it seems as if he could be ready soon for a Grapefruit League appearance.
- Another Nationals hurler, lefty Nick Lee, is looking at a much lengthier absence. As Kerzel tweets, the 26-year-old has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his left arm. Lee was hoping to spend the spring working to find the control that long has eluded him. Last year, he worked to a 4.32 ERA over fifty Double-A frames, striking out 9.9 and walking 7.6 batters per nine. The Nats obviously like his arm, as he had been added to the 40-man before losing his spot last summer.