With two shortstops down, Nats now turn to Difo and Green

With two shortstops down, Nats now turn to Difo and Green
Two days after placing their starting shortstop on the disabled list, the Nationals were forced to do the same with their backup shortstop, adding Stephen Drew to a rapidly growing infirmary. Drew was placed on the 10-day DL with a right hamstring strain, an injury he sustained in the fifth inning Tuesday night running out of the batter's box on a comebacker to the mound. The Nationals purchased the contract of Grant Green from Triple-A Syracuse to account for their sudden dearth of healthy...
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Turner lands on 10-day DL, Taylor recalled from Syracuse

Turner lands on 10-day DL, Taylor recalled from Syracuse
Had Trea Turner suffered a mild right hamstring strain on April 8, 2016, the Nationals might well have waited a week to let him heal and then put him back in their lineup, avoiding a 15-day stint on the disabled list. But because Turner suffered his injury on April 8, 2017, and because Major League Baseball has turned the 15-day DL into the 10-day DL, the Nationals decided not to waste any time and shelved their leadoff man and shortstop now. Turner was placed on the DL this afternoon, a...
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Trea Turner suffers apparent leg injury (Nats trounced 17-3)

Trea Turner suffers apparent leg injury (Nats trounced 17-3)
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals avoided significant injuries to prominent players throughout the spring and entered the season as healthy as any team in baseball, but that run of good fortune may have come to an abrupt end. Trea Turner had to come out of tonight's game against the Phillies in the top of the first inning after suffering an apparent hamstring injury running the bases, a potentially major blow to a club that intends to rely on its dynamic leadoff hitter and shortstop heavily this...
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Ramos has surgery for torn ACL, Nats say rehab is 6-8 months

Ramos has surgery for torn ACL, Nats say rehab is 6-8 months
Wilson Ramos had surgery to repair the torn ACL in his right knee today, a procedure that may not allow the soon-to-be free agent catcher to be ready for the start of the 2017 season. Ramos also had repairs done to the medial meniscus and lateral meniscus in his knee, the Nationals said. Rehab from the surgery, performed by orthopedist Robert Najarian, is expected to take six to eight months. The 29-year-old catcher was enjoying the best season of his career when he hurt himself leaping to...
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Strasburg throws off bullpen mound for first time since injury

Strasburg throws off bullpen mound for first time since injury
Whatever hope Stephen Strasburg has of pitching for the Nationals again this season got a boost today when the right-hander threw off a bullpen mound for the first time since he injured his elbow against the Braves on Sept. 7. The bullpen session was brief, roughly 25 pitches over perhaps 10 minutes, but it did represent a significant step for Strasburg in his longshot attempt to return in time to help the Nationals this postseason. The Nationals did not include Strasburg on their 25-man roster...
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Ramos tears ACL again, Nats try to replace All-Star catcher

Ramos tears ACL again, Nats try to replace All-Star catcher
The reaction among everyone in the Nationals dugout Monday night when Wilson Ramos crumpled to the ground and motioned for a trainer suggested an immediate recognition of the severity of what had just happened. Confirmation, though, came this afternoon when an MRI of Ramos' right knee indeed revealed a torn ACL, a crushing blow for the All-Star catcher, who suddenly will enter free agency coming off the second reconstructive surgery of his career, and for the Nationals, who suddenly have to...
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Nats not worried about Harper's thumb, expect Murphy for NLDS

Nats not worried about Harper's thumb, expect Murphy for NLDS
The Nationals don't yet have test results on Bryce Harper's left thumb, but the sense around the club remains that the right fielder's injury isn't serious. Harper is out of the lineup for tonight's series opener against the Diamondbacks, and the Nationals may take the precautionary route and give him more time to heal before putting him back on the field, given the fact they've already clinched the National League East title. The 23-year-old admitted Sunday he initially was worried he...
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Strasburg has flexor mass strain, ligament is "good"

Strasburg has flexor mass strain, ligament is "good"
An MRI taken of Stephen Strasburg's elbow today revealed what Nationals officials described as a best-case scenario given the circumstances, though an injury that still might prevent the right-hander from returning to pitch this season. Strasburg has "a little strain in his flexor mass," according to Nationals head athletic trainer Paul Lessard, who added the pitcher's elbow ligament is "good." The club isn't offering a timetable for Strasburg to return, but the immediate plan is for the...
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MRI scheduled after Strasburg felt "pinch in the back of his elbow"

MRI scheduled after Strasburg felt "pinch in the back of his elbow"
Stephen Strasburg "felt a pinch in the back of his elbow" and will undergo an MRI on Thursday morning to determine the extent to which the Nationals right-hander is injured, manager Dusty Baker said. Speaking at nearly 1 a.m., about 15 minutes after his team wrapped up a 5-4 11-inning, rain-delayed victory over the Braves, and about four hours after Strasburg departed in the top of the third with that elbow injury, Baker expressed both clear concern about his pitcher's health while also...
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Strasburg leaves in third inning with apparent injury

Strasburg leaves in third inning with apparent injury
What should have been among the most encouraging moments of the season's final month - Stephen Strasburg returning to the mound after a brief stint on the disabled list - instead turned into a potential nightmare scenario for the Nationals and their $175 million right-hander, who had to depart in the top of the third inning with an apparent injury that left the ballpark in stunned silence. Strasburg grimaced after throwing each of his last two pitches: a fastball to Braves pitcher Mike...
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After unexpected DL stint, for Drew "it's definitely time to go"

After unexpected DL stint, for Drew "it's definitely time to go"
When Stephen Drew came down with the flu shortly after the All-Star break, the veteran infielder couldn't have anticipated he wouldn't be able to make a full return to the Nationals for another seven weeks. Then again, how could anyone have anticipated that seemingly innocent illness would lead to an inner-ear condition that left Drew with extreme bouts of dizziness that resembled vertigo and made many daily routines, let alone anything that takes place on a baseball field, difficult to...
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Barrett determined to make full recovery from "traumatic" injury

Barrett determined to make full recovery from "traumatic" injury
The road to recovery from Tommy John surgery is long and lonely, and tests the mind just as much as it tests the reconstructed elbow of a pitcher. Aaron Barrett was far down that road in late July, a full 11 months removed from his surgery and fully confident he'd be ready to pitch in a big league game for the Nationals after only one more month of rehab. Barrett was standing on a mound on one of the practice fields in Viera, Fla., on July 22, 10 pitches into a scheduled 20-pitch simulated...
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Ross throws off mound, ready to ramp up workload again

Ross throws off mound, ready to ramp up workload again
BALTIMORE - Joe Ross threw off a bullpen mound today, the right-hander's first such throwing session in three weeks, and finally appears ready to ramp up his rehab in an attempt to rejoin the Nationals' rotation for the stretch run. Ross, out since July 3 with right shoulder inflammation, threw roughly 25-to-30 pitches off the mound in the visitors' bullpen at Camden Yards this afternoon and was admittedly "excited" about how things went. "It feels really good. That's why I'm pretty...
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Strasburg, Nationals describe DL stint as precautionary

Strasburg, Nationals describe DL stint as precautionary
BALTIMORE - Stephen Strasburg didn't think the stiff elbow he's been experiencing lately was significant enough to keep him from pitching tonight, but the Nationals told their ace right-hander not to chance it, preferring to have him make what they hope will be a brief stint on the disabled list before returning for the stretch run. "They thought it was best interest to let it recover now, instead of trying to gut it out and essentially be not available later on," Strasburg said this...
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Zimmerman, Lobaton set to return from DL on Friday

Zimmerman, Lobaton set to return from DL on Friday
ATLANTA - Ryan Zimmerman and Jose Lobaton are on their way to Atlanta and are expected to be activated off the disabled list in time for Friday night's game at Turner Field, Nationals manager Dusty Baker said today. Both Zimmerman and Lobaton completed a three-day rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse, emerging with no issues and convincing club officials they're ready to return. "They're on the way now," Baker said prior to the Nationals series opener against the Braves. "There's a...
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Harper still sidelined as nature of injury is questioned

Harper still sidelined as nature of injury is questioned
Bryce Harper once again is not in the Nationals lineup, and there doesn't seem to be any more clarity to what exactly is keeping the struggling slugger from playing. Or when he'll be ready to return. The Nationals continue to refer to Harper's ailment as a "stiff neck," with manager Dusty Baker also mentioning a recurring "spasm." But late this afternoon, Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci reported that Harper "has been playing through a right shoulder injury for the past two months,"...
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Harper sits again with stiff neck, return uncertain

Harper sits again with stiff neck, return uncertain
Bryce Harper's stiff neck, which forced him from the Nationals game three days ago, is still preventing the struggling slugger from playing tonight. Harper is out of the lineup for the Nationals' series opener against the Indians, a somewhat surprising development given the way he and the team downplayed the significance of the injury when it first became public Saturday night. "It's the same thing," manager Dusty Baker said. "We were hoping that these couple days (would help). A stiff...
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Zimmerman out for fourth straight game (Nats win 5-1)

Zimmerman out for fourth straight game (Nats win 5-1)
Ryan Zimmerman is out of the Nationals lineup for the fourth straight game, his left wrist still too bruised from the fastball that struck it Sunday afternoon in San Francisco. Zimmerman initially was hopeful he wouldn't need to miss more than a day or two after getting hit by Santiago Casilla's pitch in the ninth inning at AT&T Park. He has participated in some drills during batting practice, but he's still experiencing pain when swinging a bat. Multiple X-rays taken the day of the...
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Sore shoulder ends Ross' rehab, Drew has inner ear issue

Sore shoulder ends Ross' rehab, Drew has inner ear issue
Joe Ross won't be rejoining the Nationals' rotation nearly as soon as initially thought, not after the right-hander was pulled off his rehab assignment due to lingering shoulder soreness. Ross was due to pitch for one of the club's minor league affiliates this weekend, his third rehab start since going on the disabled list July 3 with right shoulder inflammation, and manager Dusty Baker indicated earlier this week he would probably be ready to return to the team after that. But Ross...
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X-rays on Zimmerman's hand negative, Ross nearing return

X-rays on Zimmerman's hand negative, Ross nearing return
PHOENIX - Ryan Zimmerman appears to have avoided serious injury, but the Nationals first baseman is out of tonight's lineup with a sore left wrist one day after it was struck by a pitch. Multiple X-rays taken on Zimmerman's wrist came back negative, according to manager Dusty Baker, who was breathing a sigh of relief after getting the news, knowing others who have been hit in a similar fashion (most notably Jayson Werth last season) have wound up missing months. "We dodged a bullet that...
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