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Brandon McCarthy

Quick Hits: Ziegler, Young, Buehler, Dodgers

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Here’s the latest from around baseball…

  • “It appears” as if Marlins closer Brad Ziegler has cleared August trade waivers, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes.  This means that Miami would be free to deal Ziegler to any team.  Ziegler is owed roughly $1.25MM remaining this season and $9MM in 2018, and prior to the trade deadline, the Marlins were reportedly willing to eat a large portion of that contract.  Ziegler, however, has only allowed runs in two of his last 22 appearances and he has pitched especially well since taking over as Miami’s closer.  Given that the Fish are now within striking distance of an NL wild card berth, it also isn’t clear if the team is still in selling mode.
  • Also from Cafardo’s piece, Chris Young is hopeful of re-signing with the Red Sox this winter but he implies there hasn’t been much talk about an extension.  “It’s been a good relationship but I’m not sure about their plans,” Young said.  The veteran outfielder is in the final year of a two-year, $13MM deal with Boston signed in the 2015-16 offseason, and after a strong 2016 season, Young has actually delivered slightly below-replacement level production (-0.2. fWAR) thanks to an offensive and defensive dropoff.  Young has long been known as a lefty-masher, though he has only a .614 OPS against southpaws this year (though, curiously, an .833 OPS against righties).  Young turns 34 in September but will probably get consideration from the Red Sox and several other teams for a backup or platoon outfield role.
  • Walker Buehler’s last six appearances for Triple-A Oklahoma City have come as a relief pitcher, adding to the widely-held speculation that the top Dodgers prospect will make his big league debut in September to help the team’s bullpen down the stretch (and perhaps in the postseason).  Manager Dave Roberts, however, tells Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters that the team that Walker’s future has yet to be determined.  “He’s transitioning to this new role.  We’re very sensitive to having guys here who fit a certain role and have a purpose, and we haven’t made that decision with Walker,” Roberts said.
  • From that same DiGiovanna piece, Cody Bellinger reported “no pain” in his sprained right ankle after going through workouts and batting practice.  The star rookie’s injury was thought to be mild when he hit the DL on last Tuesday (with a back-dated placement to August 20), and Bellinger indeed looks on pace to return when first eligible on Wednesday.  In other Dodgers injury news, Brandon McCarthy made his first rehab start on Friday as he looks to return from a month-long DL stint due to a blister problem.  According to Roberts, McCarthy is still “multiple rehab starts” away from returning to the Dodgers rotation.

Dodgers Place Brandon McCarthy On 10-Day DL; Activate Hyun-Jin Ryu

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The Dodgers have placed right-hander Brandon McCarthy on the 10-day disabled list due to a blister problem, the team announced.  In a corresponding move, Hyun-Jin Ryu will be activated from the DL in time to start Monday night’s game.  Kenta Maeda will take McCarthy’s place in the rotation on Tuesday night against the Twins.

McCarthy has long battled injury problems throughout his career and this season has been on different.  This is the right-hander’s third DL stint this season, all with different issues — McCarthy’s previous DL placements were due to shoulder soreness and right knee tendonitis.  This finger blister took McCarthy out of a start last month and has apparently been bothering him since Spring Training, the righty told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick and other media, though he threw a 40-pitch bullpen session today and wanted to pitch on Tuesday.

When McCarthy has been able to pitch this season, the 34-year-old has posted some strong results, notching a 3.84 ERA and 2.64 K/9 rate over 86 2/3 innings.  While McCarthy’s 6.9 K/9 indicates that he isn’t missing many bats, he also isn’t allowing batters to do much damage when they do put wood on the ball, with just a 28% hard-hit ball rate and a 5.7% home run rate.

The Dodgers rotation has been a revolving door of injury situations this season, with Ryu, Maeda, Rich Hill, Alex Wood and (as of today) ace Clayton Kershaw all missing time to the disabled list.  Ryu, for instance, is returning from a left foot contusion and also had a DL stint earlier this year due to left hip contusion.  (Not to mention the fact that Ryu missed almost all of 2015-16 recovering from shoulder injuries.)  Despite all the health problems, however, Los Angeles leads all of baseball in starting pitcher ERA (3.33) and fWAR (12.1) thanks to superlative work from Kershaw and Wood, plus good-to-solid contributions from everyone else.  Given all of the injuries and with Kershaw now possibly out of action, however, the Dodgers have been looking at adding starting pitching at the trade deadline.

Injury Notes: Castro, Werth, Rodon, Finnegan, McCarthy

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Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro left last night’s game with a right hamstring strain, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch writes. The severity of the injury isn’t yet clear — he’ll head for an MRI today — but Castro did say that he hopes he can avoid a DL stint. If a roster move is needed, though, it seems that the club may give a shot to young infielder Tyler Wade. The 22-year-old, who’s slashing .313/.390/.444 at Triple-A, was pulled from his own game in case he’s needed in the majors.

Here’s the latest on some health issues from around the game:

  • It seems there’s some optimism within the Nationals organization that outfielder Jayson Werth is ready to move towards a return from his bruised left foot. As Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com reports, it’s possible that Werth could make it back by mid-July. In his absence (and that of Chris Heisey), the Nats have relied upon a combination of Brian Goodwin and Ryan Raburn. Both have hit quite well, making it an easier decision for the team to allow Werth to heal fully. Goodwin, a former top prospect, had scuffled at Triple-A but seems to have found his power stroke in the majors; the left-handed hitter could spell Werth and split time with Michael Taylor in center if the Nats don’t add another option up the middle at the deadline.
  • Prized White Sox southpaw Carlos Rodon is scheduled to make his first MLB start of the year tomorrow, as Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com reports. He has been brought along slowly by the rebuilding team, and has struggled in his rehab outings, but will finally return — leaving the Sox with some roster questions. Chicago will need to bump someone from the rotation, which currently features Mike Pelfrey, James Shields, Derek Holland, and the surprisingly effective David Holmberg behind top starter Jose Quintana. Righty Miguel Gonzalez is also still around, though he’s on the DL.
  • Reds lefty Brandon Finnegan left his first start back from the disabled list with what the team is calling a triceps strain. As Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes, the club is waiting to decide whether he’ll need to return to the DL until he’s examined today. While it’s promising that the new problem isn’t related to the teres major muscle strain that recently shelved Finnegan for an extended stretch, the organization will obviously look to exercise caution with the 24-year-old.
  • The Dodgers have announced yet another DL placement for a starter, this time involving righty Brandon McCarthy. As Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times explains, right knee tendinitis is the cause for the move, though it’s also notable that McCarthy struggled with command in his last outing. That raised some comparisons to the veteran’s problems in 2016. Regardless, it seems the hope is that McCarthy won’t miss much action and that he’ll be able to return to the strong form he has carried thus far in the current campaign, over which he has thrown 72 innings of 3.25 ERA ball. In corresponding moves, righty Brock Stewart and outfielder Trayce Thompson were elevated, with right-hander Ross Stripling being optioned to open the additional roster spot.

Injury Notes: Cespedes, Britton, Heyward, McCarthy, Chen, Leclerc

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Mets star Yoenis Cespedes is nearly ready to begin baseball activities and could conceivably return within about two weeks, manager Terry Collins told reporters including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). His hamstring strain seemed fairly significant when it occurred abut ten days ago, though he seems to have bounced back fairly well in the interim. While New York has been showing some signs of life on the field, that doesn’t mean the club is any less anxious to welcome Cespedes back to the fold.

Here are some more updates on injury situations around the league:

  • The Orioles received some good news on closer Zach Britton, as Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports. Britton’s ailing left forearm still doesn’t appear to be related to any ligament issues, further examination showed. Noted physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache has recommended that he rest for about ten days before beginning to throw, so it’ll be a few weeks before Britton will return. It still seems concerning that Britton was forced back to the DL for a second time not long after returning, but it’s obviously also quite promising to hear that there’s still no evidence of a structural problem.
  • Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward is heading to the 10-day DL with a hand injury, as Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com was among those to report (Twitter link). For now, he’ll be replaced on the active roster by righty Dylan Floro. At present, there’s no reason to think that Heyward will require a lengthy rest. He’ll no doubt be anxious to get back to work at improving upon his stunningly poor 2016 season. There have been some signs of life, though Heyward is hitting just .253/.333/.364 with three home runs over 111 plate appearances.
  • Also heading to the 10-day DL is Dodgers righty Brandon McCarthy, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report. McCarthy suggested that the layoff wasn’t necessary, as his shoulder injury occurred to the non-throwing side. But the organization felt there were at least some problems with having him on the field before the shoulder was fully healed — and, perhaps, also saw an opportunity to rest McCarthy’s arm while giving innings to other pitchers and adding another reliever (lefty Adam Liberatore). “When you have five other guys who are capable, right now, to pitch and help us win baseball games, to have the benefit of some extra days to strengthen [the shoulder], to heal it — as an organization, I think it’s the right thing [to do],” said manager Dave Roberts (parentheticals via McCullough). “I understand his frustration.”
  • The Marlins may be without lefty Wei-Yin Chen a bit longer than had been anticipated, as Craig Davis of the Sun Sentinel reports. When he went to the DL with an elbow issue, the hope was he’d only miss one outing. But skipper Don Mattingly said today that Chen’s elbow “seems to have taken a little bit of a back turn.” It remains to be seen just how long Chen will be out, but it’s certainly not promising to hear that his condition did not progress as hoped.
  • Rangers reliever Jose Leclerc is heading to the 10-day DL with a bruised index finger, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced by southpaw Dario Alvarez. Leclerc, 23, has been a bright spot for the struggling organization. Over 11 2/3 innings, he has allowed just three earned runs on six hits while racking up 18 strikeouts against five walks. Hopefully, he’ll return to health and have a chance to get back to continuing that strong start in short order.

Starting Pitching Notes: Harvey, Cole, McCarthy, Greinke, Hellickson

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Starting pitchers could dominate talks leading up to this summer’s trade deadline, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes in his latest Insider-only column.  In addition to long-discussed trade candidates like White Sox southpaw Jose Quintana, struggling would-be contenders like the Mets, Blue Jays, Royals, and Pirates could put some of their own arms on the market if they’re fully out of the pennant race by July.  Olney’s column is well worth a full read for his listing of every potential name on the market, though here are a few of the particular hot stove notables…

  • Some evaluators believe the Mets would listen to offers for Matt Harvey if they fall out of the running in the NL East.  The former ace has been whispered in trade rumors for a couple of years due to both off-the-field controversy and a seeming likelihood that he will test the free agent market after the 2018 season (Scott Boras is Harvey’s agent).  Of course, Harvey’s stock has dropped due to an injury-plagued 2016 campaign, and the righty has been only average (4.25 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 1.8 K/BB rate) over 29.2 IP and five starts this season.  Harvey has been been homer-prone this season and his average fastball velocity is 93.8 mph, two full miles down from his 2015 velocity.  Still, as long as Harvey stays healthy, one would think he’d still receive a lot of deadline attention given his past history.
  • Gerrit Cole is also a Boras client, and since “there is a wide expectation” that Cole won’t stay with the Pirates when his current deal is up after 2019, the righty could be a deadline chip.  Olney writes that some teams felt Pittsburgh was even willing to listen to offers for Cole last year.  With two-plus years of team control left, Cole could well be the most sought-after name on the market if the Bucs indeed made him available, though Cole also has a fairly checkered injury history over the last three years.  The right-hander has a 3.60 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.5 K/BB rate, and 47.1% grounder rate through 30 innings this season.  Dealing Cole wouldn’t necessarily indicate a rebuild for the Pirates, as the team could seek to gain some MLB-ready young talent that could help them make a quick rebound in 2018.
  • Some contending teams could also look to shop pitching, as Olney notes that the Dodgers could again try to move Brandon McCarthy after they were unable to find a taker last winter.  McCarthy has a 3.10 ERA, 7.76 K/9, and 2.78 K/BB rate through 29 innings, finally looking to be in good form after missing much of 2015-16 due to Tommy John surgery.  Of course, given McCarthy’s long injury history, interested teams will surely want to see if the veteran can stay healthy before making any trade offers.  In my opinion, I’d think that the Dodgers might want to hang onto McCarthy given the team’s other injury and performance issues within their rotation.
  • Even with Zack Greinke pitching well and the Diamondbacks battling for first in the NL West, Greinke’s huge salary will still make the D’Backs open to discussing a trade, rival evaluators believe.  Greinke is owed roughly $167MM through the end of the 2021 season, single-handedly accounting for a such a big percentage of Arizona’s current and future payroll commitments that a trade may well be in the best long-term interest of the team.  Of course, if the D’Backs are still contending into July, GM Mike Hazen will face pressure to keep Greinke so he can help the club reach the postseason for just the third time in 15 seasons.
  • A busier-than-expected pitching market could also lead to some players staying put, as Olney suggests the Phillies could look to extend Jeremy Hellickson and make him a building block of their rotation.  Hellickson has a 1.80 ERA through 30 innings this season, though his ERA predictors and peripheral numbers (3.3 K/9, .196 BABIP, 86.2% strand rate, 3.63 FIP, 5.26 xFIP, 5.34 SIERA) suggest that he has been quite fortunate to get such good results.  One would think Philadelphia would try to sell high on Hellickson if he keeps outperforming the advanced metrics to such a large extent, though obviously other teams will be wary of those numbers as well.

Ryu, McCarthy Named To Dodgers’ Rotation; Wood To Bullpen

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MARCH 29: Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets that McCarthy has, indeed, been tabbed for the final spot in the rotation. Roberts told the L.A. media today that McCarthy will start the fourth game of the season in Los Angeles, with Ryu getting the nod in Colorado in the following contest. Those decisions land Wood in the bullpen, though certainly, given the injury concerns that constantly surround McCarthy, Ryu and the currently-injured Scott Kazmir, Wood could find himself with a rotation opportunity at some point during the season.

McCullough further tweets that Stripling will not be going to Triple-A but will instead begin the season in long relief. The Dodgers will trot out a rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda, McCarthy and Ryu with Kenley Jansen, Sergio Romo, Grant Dayton, Luis Avilan, Chris Hatcher, Wood and Stripling in the relief corps.

MARCH 27: The Dodgers will utilize lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu out of the rotation when camp breaks, manager Dave Roberts told reporters including Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). That leaves Brandon McCarthy and Alex Wood still battling for the fifth and final rotation job, though both will end up on the MLB roster.

It’s not altogether surprising at this point to hear that Ryu will join the staff, though it’s certainly promising news that the Dodgers think he’s ready to handle the load. He seemingly locked the job up with his outing today, which extended his spring stat line to 14 innings of 2.57 ERA ball, over which he racked up a dozen strikeouts with just one walk.

Ryu, who just turned 30, has basically missed all of the past two seasons with arm issues. And it is certainly an open question whether he can stay healthy for the long haul. But the upside is obvious — he posted a 3.17 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 over 344 innings from 2013-14 — and there’s little reason not to hand him the ball and see what happens with two years and $14MM left on his contract.

After all, the Dodgers are clearly set up to get what they can out of health risks such as Ryu while covering when the need arises. In this case, one of McCarthy and Wood will be on hand in the bullpen. And while the news seemingly tickets Ross Stripling for Triple-A, he’ll be among the arms ready to step into the rotation. Los Angeles has already stashed a not-so-secret weapon there in outstanding youngster Julio Urias.

West Notes: Giants, Halos, D-backs, Dodgers, Mariners

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The Giants have informed 38-year-old shortstop Jimmy Rollins that he won’t make their roster, Andrew Baggarly of the East Bay Times was among those to report. San Francisco is now awaiting word on whether the longtime Phillie and 2007 NL MVP will accept a minor league assignment, per manager Bruce Bochy, but Baggarly notes that Rollins has a Thursday opt-out in his contract. This could conceivably be the end of the line for Rollins, who posted subpar seasons with the Dodgers and White Sox over the past two years. Chicago released him last June after a 41-game stint on the South Side, and he went on to ink a minors pact with the Giants in December.

More from the West divisions:

  • Angels utilityman Dustin Ackley will not opt out of his minor league deal, reports Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The former star prospect will instead go to Triple-A. Ackley, 29, is still recovering from the shoulder surgery he underwent as a Yankee last June; consequently, he hasn’t played the field this spring.
  • The Diamondbacks optioned Ketel Marte to Triple-A on Tuesday, meaning they’re primed to divide shortstop between Nick Ahmed and Chris Owings. Manager Torey Lovullo isn’t sure which of the two will get the lion’s share of playing time at short, though “he sort of intimated” Owings will be in the lineup everyday at various positions, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter links). Since debuting in 2013, Owings has seen action at both middle infield spots and center field.
  • It’s clear that the Dodgers will go with right-hander Brandon McCarthy over southpaw Alex Wood for the fifth spot in their rotation, writes Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Wood seems resigned to the idea that he’s headed to the bullpen, observes Plunkett. While the 26-year-old Wood isn’t thrilled, he’s staying upbeat. “If I were anywhere else, I don’t think we’d be having this discussion,” he said. “You can look at it as the glass being half empty or glass half full. It’s one of those things where I’m excited because this is the best team I’ve ever been on. Whatever they want me to do, that’s where we’ll go.” Wood isn’t new to the bullpen, having totaled 35 of 112 career appearances as a reliever, and he could return to the rotation if the injury bug once again bites McCarthy. For now, it appears McCarthy will slot in behind Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill and Hyun-jin Ryu.
  • Mariners reliever Shae Simmons is progressing in his recovery from the forearm strain he suffered March 11, relays Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. An MRI on Tuesday confirmed no ligament damage, but the righty will still go at least a few more days without throwing. As Dutton notes, the 26-year-old Simmons missed almost all of the previous two seasons with the Braves while recovering from Tommy John surgery, so the latest development is an encouraging one.

Scott Kazmir To Begin Season On DL

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Dodgers starter Scott Kazmir will begin the season on the disabled list, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets. “It’s something with the hip,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told McCullough.

Kazmir has dealt with hip tightness this spring, and his velocity was in the 82-84 MPH range less than two weeks ago. He pitched yesterday against Texas and struggled, allowing three runs, five walks and two hit batsmen over three innings.

The Dodgers have two open spots in their rotation behind Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill. Even with Kazmir on the shelf, there’s plenty of competition for those two spots — Brandon McCarthy, Hyun-jin Ryu and Alex Wood, all veterans with successful big-league seasons under their belts, are all in the running. Ryu has missed much of the past two seasons to injury, but has impressed observers in camp. Top young lefty Julio Urias appears set to begin the season in the minors as the Dodgers monitor his workload.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Astros, Royals, Gagne

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Two weeks ago, the Dodgers were leaning toward having left-hander Julio Urias open the season in their rotation. It now appears he’ll begin in the minors as they attempt to tamp down his workload, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The 20-year-old phenom threw a career-high 122 innings between the majors and minors in 2016, and LA wants to keep him fresh this season for a potential playoff run. Should the Dodgers send down Urias, they’d choose among Brandon McCarthy, Alex Wood and “wild card” Hyun-Jin Ryu to fill their final two rotation spots, adds Sherman (Twitter links here).

Elsewhere around the majors…

  • Houston’s acquisition of catcher Brian McCann from the Yankees in November played a key role in their December signing of designated hitter Carlos Beltran, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow informed Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. “As we recruited Beltran, bringing McCann over was a big part of getting Beltran to accept coming over here,” said Luhnow. Teammates in New York from 2014-16, McCann and Beltran have already been quite valuable behind the scenes for the Astros, per Luhnow. “These two guys have been a tremendous boost to the environment in our clubhouse,” he stated. “I’m so glad they’re here.”
  • When he accepted the Royals’ two-year, $12MM guarantee as a free agent last month, southpaw Travis Wood seemed like a decent bet to start 2017 in their rotation. But another offseason acquisition, trade pickup Nate Karns, has emerged over Wood and Chris Young as the clear favorite for Kansas City’s last starting spot, tweets Sherman. The right-handed Karns, 29, made 46 starts with the Nationals, Rays and Mariners from 2013-16 and logged a 4.19 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 3.69 BB/9 over 249 innings. The 30-year-old Wood worked solely as a reliever with the World Series champion Cubs last season, which came after he racked up 133 starts in Cincinnati and Chicago from 2010-15. He recorded the same ERA as Karns (4.19) to go with 7.11 K/9 against 3.15 BB/9 during that 776-inning span.
  • Free agent reliever Eric Gagne, 41, is making a case for a contract in the World Baseball Classic, though the Team Canada righty and 2003 NL Cy Young winner realizes he’d first have to succeed in the minors to have any chance at returning to the majors. “I know the game, I know how it happens, I know they need spots on the 40-man roster and don’t want to release a young guy for a 41 year old, so of course I’d be willing to do anything,” the former closer told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Gagne, who hasn’t pitched in the bigs since 2008, worked out for five teams before the WBC, writes Davidi, and has since fared well in the tournament. “Words are irrelevant at this point. Clubs are seeing it with their own eyes,” Gagne’s agent, Scott Leventhal, told FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).

NL Notes: Nationals, Dodgers, Mets

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There’s a belief across baseball that the Nationals’ affinity for deferring money in contracts has somewhat hindered their pursuit of talent in free agency and could negatively affect them down the line as they attempt to avoid the luxury tax, according to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post. “They’re unique. They’re the only team that operates like this,” an agent told Svrluga, who adds that team ownership won’t comment on its methods. The Nats are set to pay their newest addition, reliever Joe Blanton, $4MM on a one-year deal, but he’ll collect that money through 2019. Among far more expensive examples, starters Max Scherzer (signed through 2021) and Stephen Strasburg (2023) will be on the franchise’s books and through 2028 and 2030, respectively.

More from Washington and two other NL cities:

  • Dodgers right-hander Brandon McCarthy has long been a control artist, which makes it rather startling that he walked 26 batters in an injury-shortened, 40-inning 2016. McCarthy returned from 2015 Tommy John surgery and also dealt with a hip issue, but it was a case of the yips that led to his spike in walks – including 15 over 8 1/3 innings (three starts) from Aug. 2-13 – as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. “I think most of it was mechanical,” McCarthy said. “Usually, if you get the shanks in golf, something has gone wrong physically in your swing, and you lose your mental feel for what you are trying to do. It becomes sort of a self-fulfilling thing. I think that was really the extent of it.” McCarthy made a late-season mechanical adjustment and is optimistic the issue is behind him. The 33-year-old is now entering the penultimate season of a four-year, $48MM contract, but he’d have no qualms about retiring and leaving money on the table if he were to lose his desire to pitch. “The day where the motivation is not there to come in and do it, I have no problems ‘Gil Meche-ing it’ and just walking home and leaving it,” said McCarthy, referring to then-Royal Gil Meche’s decision to retire in 2011 and abandon a guaranteed $12MM. (For more on players who have battled the yips, check out FanGraphs’ Travis Sawchik’s piece from earlier this week.)
  • The Mets are doubling down on last year’s roster, writes the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, who notes that they’re likely to open the season with 25 players who were on their team in 2016. “It doesn’t feel it’s stale, it feels as if we have consolidated our gains,” general manager Sandy Alderson said of the club’s roster, which managed 87 wins and a playoff berth last season despite myriad injuries. Of the 55 players the Mets invited to camp, just three weren’t in the organization a year ago, and the only newcomer who has much of a chance to make the team is left-hander Tom Gorzelanny, per Sherman.
  • The Nationals are doing their due diligence on Eric Gagne as the former star closer looks to emerge from his yearslong retirement and return to the majors. Nats special assistant De Jon Watson was on hand at Dodgers camp Saturday to watch Gagne throw, relays Shaikin, who tweets that the right-hander topped out at 91 mph. Now 41, Gagne averaged just over 92 mph on his fastball in 2008, his latest major league action.
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