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Injury Notes: Pollock, La Stella, Sanchez, Borucki, Pearson

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A.J. Pollock left today’s game with what the White Sox announced as right hamstring tightness.  Pollock had just singled, but seemed to tweak his hamstring while making the turn around first base, and had to be replaced for a pinch-runner.  While Pollock’s lengthy injury history (including a right hamstring strain that sidelined him for over two weeks last September) gives particular concern to any new issues, Pollock told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters after the game that today’s injury wasn’t nearly as severe as last season’s hamstring problem.

As it happens, Pollock was already set to miss some time.  The outfielder and his wife are expecting their second child, and Pollock was scheduled to go on paternity leave tomorrow.  He’ll use the absence to rest his hamstring and hopefully avoid become the latest White Sox player to hit the injured list.  Garrett Crochet has been lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery, while the 10-day IL features Lance Lynn, Yoan Moncada, Joe Kelly, Yermin Mercedes, and Ryan Burr, plus Lucas Giolito is now also set to miss at least his next two starts.

More injury updates from around baseball…

  • There is “no set in stone timeline at this point” for when Tommy La Stella might return from the injured list, Giants manager Gabe Kapler told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado and other reporters.  La Stella underwent Achilles surgery in October and is still feeling some soreness, though he told media that doctors have said this isn’t unusual.  Despite the lack of clarity, the Giants did consider using La Stella as a DH to begin the season, so it would seem like he is relatively close to playing.  “It was just one of those things where we wanted to make sure that we weren’t sacrificing the long-term success in this process for short-term gains now and make sure I’m set up to be good to go for the rest of the season,” La Stella said.
  • Anibal Sanchez could miss his scheduled start Monday, as the Nationals right-hander has been dealing with neck soreness.  The Nats already pushed Sanchez’s start back to give him time to heal, but as MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman writes, the club now may need to turn to either the bullpen, or possibly a minor league call-up like Josh Rogers or Aaron Sanchez to take the start.  In Aaron Sanchez’s case, the Nationals would have to first clear a 40-man roster spot to select his minor league contract.
  • Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo updated reporters (including TSN’s Scott Mitchell) about sidelined pitchers Ryan Borucki and Nate Pearson.  Borucki is on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain, but came out of a two-inning simulated game feeling well.  Pearson is set to start light throwing after missing time due to mononucleosis, but because Pearson missed a significant portion of Spring Training, Mitchell writes that the right-hander is “essentially starting from scratch” from a preparation standpoint.  As such, it might not be until at least mid-May that Pearson is fully ramped up.

Nationals Select Strange-Gordon, Franco, Arano; Place Harris, Strasburg On IL

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The Nationals have finalized their Opening Day roster, announcing this morning that non-roster invitees Dee Strange-Gordon, Maikel Franco and Víctor Arano all made the big league club. Yesterday’s designation of reliever Gabe Klobosits freed up one roster spot, while the other two 40-man vacancies were created by placing Seth Romero and Will Harris on the 60-day injured list.

Strange-Gordon returns to the majors after splitting the 2021 season between three Triple-A teams. It’ll be his 11th MLB season, and his first in Washington. Strange-Gordon is a three-time stolen base king and former batting champ, but his production has dipped in recent years. He hit just .266/.293/.343 with the Mariners between 2018-20, still putting the ball in play but rarely walking or hitting for power.

Despite turning 34 next month, Strange-Gordon still brings plenty of speed and athleticism. He’ll presumably back up starting second baseman César Hernández and could also see some time in the outfield. Strange-Gordon never took well to a center field experiment with the M’s, but he rated as a plus defender at second base during his peak with the Marlins.

Franco is readying for his eighth MLB season. A top prospect during his days in the Phillies farm system, he showcased some bat-to-ball skills and power but never drew many walks and struggled defensively. Franco never emerged as the middle-of-the-order bat the Phils envisioned, and he’s spent the past couple seasons on low-salary deals with the Royals and Orioles, respectively.

The 29-year-old had a decent showing with K.C. during the shortened 2020 season, but he managed just a .210/.253/.355 line in a bit more than 400 plate appearances with Baltimore last year. He’ll get the Opening Day nod at third base, though, as the Nats are down both Carter Kieboom and Ehire Adrianza. Kieboom was placed on the 60-day injured list with a UCL sprain last month, while Adrianza landed on the 10-day IL today due to a left quad strain.

Arano, like Strange-Gordon and Franco, has spent the bulk of his career in the NL East. He worked to a 2.65 ERA in 74 2/3 innings with the Phillies between 2017-19, striking out a solid 26.3% of opponents with an impressive 7.6% walk rate. The right-hander missed almost all of the 2019 campaign because of elbow inflammation, and he spent 2020 at the alternate training site.

The 27-year-old Arano spent last season in the Braves organization, where he landed via waivers. Despite posting a 2.50 ERA in 36 frames with Triple-A Gwinnett, he never got a big league call and was outrighted off the 40-man roster. Arano’s typically steady production made him a solid minor league signee for a Washington team with a thin bullpen, and he’ll earn his first MLB look in three years.

Harris was expected to be a noteworthy part of that bullpen, but he’s been hit hard by injuries of late. The veteran righty missed most of last season after undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in May. He recently underwent a clean-up procedure to remove scar tissue and won’t throw for three to four weeks, tweets Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Harris won’t return to an MLB mound until at least early June.

Romero is dealing with a left calf strain, per the team. The former first-round pick has only three MLB appearances to his name — all in 2020 — but he’ll accrue big league service and pay while on the IL. Romero posted a 5.31 ERA in six Double-A appearances last season but struck out a fantastic 37% of opponents.

Washington also placed Stephen Strasburg on the 10-day injured list. That had been an inevitability for some time, as Strasburg has been dealing with lingering effects of a 2021 TOS surgery of his own. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said on 106.7 The Fan this week that Strasburg could return by the start of May but didn’t want to specify a timeline at this point (h/t to Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington).

Nationals To Designate Gabe Klobosits For Assignment

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The Nationals are designating reliever Gabe Klobosits for assignment, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (on Twitter). The move clears a space on Washington’s 40-man roster, which now sits at 39.

Klobosits made his first 11 MLB appearances last season. The 6’8″ righty averaged nearly 95 MPH on his fastball but didn’t get great results, allowing eight runs in 11 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and walks apiece. The Auburn product had a very nice season in the high minors, combining for a 1.64 ERA with a solid 28.9% strikeout percentage and 8.8% walk rate between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester.

The 26-year-old paired his fastball with a split and a slider during his limited big league time. He didn’t miss many bats in the majors but had a fair bit of success during his preceding minor league run. Washington will have a week to trade Klobosits or place him on waivers. If another team put in a claim, they’d be able to option him to the minor leagues in each of the next two seasons.

Jordy Mercer Announces Retirement

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Veteran infielder Jordy Mercer took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that he’s retiring after a decade-long career at the big league level.

Jordy Mercer | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

“Thank You baseball!” wrote Mercer. “Thank you for the opportunity and love you have given me. I hope I loved you back just as much. Thank you to the ones that have supported me, especially my family every step of the way. It’s time!! Excited for the next chapter.”

Mercer, 35, was a third-round pick out of Oklahoma State University by the Pirates back in 2008 and made his big league debut with Pittsburgh four years later in 2012. He logged just 68 plate appearances over 42 games and didn’t hit much as a 25-year-old rookie. However, Mercer seized the Pirates’ starting shortstop role the following season when he slashed .285/.336/.435 with eight homers, 22 doubles and a pair of triples in 395 plate appearances.

Over the next five seasons, Mercer was a constant in the Pirates’ lineup and in their infield. From 2013-18, he racked up 2928 plate appearances over 779 games while batting .257/.317/.387 with 54 home runs, 145 doubles, 14 triples and 13 stolen bases. That steady play at shortstop for the Buccos earned him a one-year, $5.25MM deal with the Tigers in free agency during the 2018-19 offseason.

Mercer managed just 74 games in his first season with the Tigers thanks to a pair of quadriceps strains that resulted in multiple stints on the injured list, but his overall production was sound when healthy. In 271 plate appearances, he smacked nine homers and 16 doubles while batting .270/.310/.438. He returned to the Tigers on a minor league deal but was immediately selected to their big league roster in July once the season was finally able to get underway. Mercer appeared in just three games with the Tigers before clearing waivers, electing free agency and signing with the Yankees, for whom he played another six games that season.

Last winter, Mercer inked a minor league deal with the Nationals and, by the end of Spring Training, had played his way onto the big league roster. Quadriceps and calf strains again hampered him in 2021, however, and Mercer was limited to just 46 games and 127 plate appearances as a National, during which time he slashed .254/.307/.364.

That brief stay in D.C. proved to be the final chapter of what wound up being a ten-year career at the MLB level for Mercer. He’ll head into retirement with a lifetime .256/.315/.386 batting line, 66 home runs, 173 doubles, 15 triples, 796 total hits, 330 runs scored and another 308 runs driven in. He may never have been an All-Star, but Mercer was a solid regular for several years in Pittsburgh who was able to celebrate three postseason berths (2013-15 with the Pirates) and suit up for 950 Major League games — all while topping $20MM in career earnings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nationals Select Anibal Sanchez

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The Nationals announced this morning they’ve selected righty Aníbal Sánchez onto the big league roster. The Nats already had a 40-man roster spot available, so no move was necessary in that regard.

Sánchez returns to the nation’s capital, where he spent the 2019-20 campaigns. The veteran hurler had a productive first season in Washington, pitching to a 3.85 ERA over 166 regular season innings. He started a game in each of the Division Series, Championship Series and World Series during the Nats’ World Series run that year. Washington won all three of those games, with Sánchez contributing 18 innings of five-run ball during that stretch.

The second season of Sánchez’s tenure wasn’t as productive, either from a personal or team standpoint. He made 11 starts during the shortened schedule but only managed a 6.62 ERA. Washington fell to the bottom of the NL East, and the Venezuela native hit free agency at the end of the year. Sánchez didn’t wind up playing in affiliated ball last year. He was reportedly concerned by the pandemic protocols early in the season, then didn’t find an offer to his liking during the year.

The 38-year-old never suggested he was planning to step away from the game entirely, though. He inked a minor league deal to rejoin the Nationals this winter, and he’ll now lock in a $2MM base salary by making the Opening Day roster. Presumably, he’ll step right back into a rotation that’ll be without Stephen Strasburg and Joe Ross to open the year. Patrick Corbin, Erick Fedde, Josiah Gray, Josh Rogers and Paolo Espino are among the rotation options for skipper Dave Martinez.

Nationals Avoid Arbitration With Victor Robles

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7:26PM: Robles and the Nationals agreed to a one-year, $1.65MM deal, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

3:21PM: The Nationals agreed to a 2022 contract with outfielder Victor Robles, The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty reports (Twitter link).  The deal allows both sides to avoid an arbitration hearing, as an agreement wasn’t reached prior to the deadline for submitting arb figures.  Robles was seeking a $2.1MM salary, while the Nats countered with a $1.6MM offer.  MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected Robles for a $1.7MM deal.

This is Robles’ first time through the arbitration process, and he is on pace to hit free agency following the 2024 season.  In the near term, however, 2022 looms as a critical year for Robles to re-establish himself as a key part of Washington’s future plans.  Since emerging as an everyday member of the Nats’ 2019 World Series club, Robles has hit only .209/.304/.302 in 558 plate appearances in 2020-21.

Once considered one of the elite prospects in all of baseball, Robles now has only a somewhat tenuous hold on a starting job.  Robles is still penciled into the center field job, though some defensive metrics have painted a sour picture of his glovework following his all-world defensive numbers in 2019.

With Robles’ deal now settled, the Nationals have worked out contracts with every member of their 2021-22 arbitration class.  For more on settled and still-pending arbitration situations, check out MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.

Roster Notes: Nationals, A’s, Royals

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Andrew Stevenson of the Nationals has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, per the team. Stevenson can provide solid defense and baserunning, but those aren’t particular needs for a Washington team planning to start Lane Thomas and Victor Robles alongside superstar Juan Soto. Yadiel Hernandez and Gerardo Parra are the pure outfielders remaining in camp with a chance to win the fourth outfielder spot, while Ehire Adrianza is also capable of playing in the grass. As for Stevenson, he will have 48 hours to accept his assignment or elect free agency. Let’s check in on  some other roster updates from around the game…

Quick Hits: Humidors, Dodgers, Nationals

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Here’s an interesting wrinkle to the 2022 season: Every Major League ballpark will store their baseballs in a humidor this season, The Athletic’s Eno Sarris hears from Cubs’ announcer Jon Sciambi. Sarris adds thoughtful context to the news in a series of follow-up tweets, including the list of teams whose ballparks had already featured humidors (Rockies, Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Mariners, Mets, Astros, Marlins, Cardinals, Rangers, and Blue Jays). Colorado and Arizona were the first to explore using humidors to keep baseballs from dying out in their low humidity environments. While you might associate humidors with lessening the buoyancy of the baseball because of these examples, in high humidity environments, the humidors will dry out baseballs, thereby, theoretically, adding distance to their relative trajectories.

Sarris notes that San Francisco, San Diego, Tampa Bay, and Miami are some of the parks that might see a small jolt to the baseball because of the humidors. It’s hard to know the full effect at this time, but it will be one of many factors worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses. Here are a couple of other things to keep an eye on as the season nears…

  • The Dodgers don’t have a dedicated closer right now, though Blake Treinen’s name would be at the top of the list for manager Dave Roberts if the season began today, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). Treinen would certainly be capable, but the Dodgers may want to explore the benefits of not having a single, dedicated player locked into the ninth inning. Daniel Hudson can certainly manage the mental weight of closing games – he did lock down the final moments of a World Series win, after all. Brusdar Graterol might be another interesting arm to give some of those opportunities to, if he can get himself on track. On the whole, however, the Dodgers look to enter the season with a less experienced pen than in years past. Kenley Jansen, Joe Kelly, and Corey Knebel departed for the Braves, White Sox, and Phillies, respectively, leaving Treinen as the natural choice to close games.
  • The Nationals won’t have quite the same spotlight as the Dodgers, but they, too, need to figure out who will be collecting saves. If manager Dave Martinez has his way, it will be Tanner Rainey, but the 29-year-old is going to have to earn it, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com.  If Rainey can prove the consistency issues that have plagued him in the past are behind him, he should get his opportunity to close games. If he struggles, however, there’s suddenly a handful of distinguished vets to whom Martinez can turn, including his former closer, Sean Doolittle. Even beyond Doolittle, however, Steve Cishek, Tyler Clippard, Will Harris, and last year’s closer, Kyle Finnegan, would not be fazed by high-leverage opportunities.

Nationals Sign Tyler Clippard To Minors Contract

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Tyler Clippard has returned to the Nationals organization, as The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga reported that the Nats had a locker waiting for the veteran right-hander.  The Post’s Jesse Dougherty confirmed that Clippard was indeed a non-roster invite to the club’s big league spring camp.

Clippard first pitched for Washington from 2008-14, a stint that solidified Clippard as a solid and sometimes elite bullpen arm.  The righty posted a 2.68 ERA, 28.5% strikeout rate, and 9.8% walk rate over his 464 previous innings in a Nats uniform, twice reaching the NL All-Star team and operating as either a workhorse setup man or (in 2012) as a closer.  The two sides parted ways in January 2015, when the Nationals traded Clippard to the A’s for Yunel Escobar.

That swap kicked off a nomadic stretch for Clippard, as he saw action with nine different teams from 2015-21.  Despite the lack of stability, Clippard was still posting effective numbers, with a 3.47 ERA, 25.9% strikeout rate, and 9.0% walk rate in 376 1/3 frames in those seven seasons.  There was a bit of a bump in home run rate (8.2% with Washington and 10.0% elsewhere), which isn’t a huge surprise given Clippard’s extreme fly-ball tendencies.

Never a high-velocity arm even in his prime years, Clippard has relied on soft contact and an excellent changeup as the keys to his success.  Clippard’s strikeout totals have declined over the last four years, however, and his fastball averaged only 88.9 mph over 25 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks in 2021.

Clippard got a late start late season, as a shoulder injury kept him from any big league action until July 21.  Arizona declined their side of a $3.5MM mutual option for the 2022 season, thus sending Clippard into free agency entering his age-37 campaign.

Between the additions of Steve Cishek, Sean Doolittle, and now Clippard, the Nationals have bolstered their young relief corps with plenty of veteran experience.  Given the amount of uncertainty in the D.C. bullpen, Clippard probably stands a pretty good chance of breaking camp with the team and even getting a crack at some high-leverage innings.  It remains to be seen exactly how the Nats will line up their relievers in late-game situations, or whether or not manager Davey Martinez will go purely situational rather than have a set order for the seventh, eighth, or even ninth innings.

Nationals Avoid Arbitration With Juan Soto, Josh Bell

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The Nationals have avoided arbitration with star outfielder Juan Soto and first baseman Josh Bell, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter links). Soto will make $17.1MM, while Bell will collect an even $10MM.

It’s a massive second-year number for Soto, who had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $16.2MM mark. That’s a reflection of the 23-year-old’s otherworldly track record, as he’s coming off as good a year at the plate as anyone in the game. Soto hit .313/.465/.534 with 29 home runs in 654 plate appearances. That earned him a notable bump over his 2021 salary of $8.5MM. Soto reached arbitration last winter as a Super Two and is controllable through 2024.

Bell’s $10MM salary is an exact match for Swartz’s projection. The former Pirate is coming off a decent first season in the District, posting a .261/.347/.476 line with 27 homers. After a pedestrian first half, Bell caught fire down the stretch. He’ll try to keep that going this season and set himself up for a nice payday next winter, when he’ll reach the open market for the first time.

With those agreements in place, the Nationals now have around $135MM on the books, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That’s nearly $50MM lower than last year’s season-opening mark, as the Nats kicked off a retooling effort last summer.

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