Saturday, June 1, 2013

Harper to DL, Davis recalled



[Updated 3:45 p.m.]

ATLANTA — The Nationals have placed outfielder Bryce Harper, still unable to play with bursitis in his left knee, on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to May 27) and promoted right-hander Erik Davis from Class AAA Syracuse to provide a fresh arm to a bullpen overworked as a result of Stephen Strasburg's oblique strain.

Harper heads to the DL with bursitis in his knee, the condition that has plagued the 20-year-old slugger since he slammed into the wall at Dodger Stadium 19 days ago. He is eligible to return June 11.

Strasburg, meanwhile, is headed back to Washington today to be examined by team medical director Wiemi Douoguih after departing last night's game with a strained right oblique muscle that could land the ace on the DL himself.

 Harper has twice tried to return from the collision but has been unable to stay on the field. He started two straight games in San Diego a couple of days after the incident in Los Angeles, only to have to miss the final two games of that series. He then returned to the lineup for six straight games against the Giants and Phillies, but was so hobbled by the end of that stretch that he had to be removed mid-game.

The Nationals held Harper out of all four games of this week's interleague series with the Orioles, despite initial hope he might be able to serve as DH in the two games at Camden Yards. An attempt to return to action for last night's series opener against the Braves was quashed when he was still noticeably limping after arriving in Atlanta.

"He's a tough guy, and he would play if at all possible," manager Davey Johnson said prior to last night's game. "But he's too good a talent to take a chance on further injury. So he's not going out there til it's better, that's for dang sure."

The Nationals intended to wait out the weekend before making a DL decision on Harper, possibly using Jayson Werth's expected Tuesday return from a hamstring injury to pull off a roster swap, but Strasburg's early exit from last night's game set off a domino effect that necessitated the immediate addition of another pitcher.

When Strasburg departed after only two innings with a right oblique strain that could land the right-hander on the DL himself, Craig Stammen was forced to pitch four innings in relief. Stammen won't be available tonight, nor will Tyler Clippard, who needed 32 pitches to navigate his way through a harrowing seventh inning during the Nationals' 3-2 victory.

Thus, the club is calling up Davis, who tweeted the news of his promotion from Syracuse late last night.

Davis, a 26-year-old right-hander, was 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA and seven saves in 21 appearances at Class AAA. Acquired from the Padres in 2011 for infielder Alberto Gonzalez, the hard-throwing reliever is a former Stanford teammate of Nationals reliever Drew Storen who seven years ago was struck in the face by a line drive while pitching in the Cape Cod League and required two surgeries to return to the mound.

22 comments:

Joe Seamhead said...

You wanna talk tough? Erik Davis is tough!

SonnyG10 said...

Welcome to the big league, Erik; big shoes to fill.

EmDash said...

If Harper can't play, I'm glad he's going on the DL. It stinks that it's necessary, but I'm glad that they're biting the bullet on this.

I imagine Davis will only last a few days since Stammen will be unavailble, and then a reserve outfielder like Brown will be brought up?

Hope Strasburg's strain is mild, but, the way this season is going so far...

EmDash said...

Also, I'm pretty annoyed about the Strasburg narrative being that he's "injured again." Oh, twice in three years, one of them the type of relatively minor nagging injury that players get all the time? How terrible, he must be injury-prone forever. Why, it wasn't even worth protecting his arm last year! Ugh.

NatsNutty said...

The plight of the Nats is starting to remind me of the 2012 Fillies who were coming off their fifth consecutive National League East championship with 102 wins the previous year. Unfortunately for the 2012 Fillies, they were barely mediocre, ending the season 81-81, due to a slew of long-term injuries to their superstars like Howard and Utley. Can this be the fate of the 2013 Nats??? Just askin'.

TimDz said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joe Seamhead said...

Speaking of the Phillies and mediocre, our old buddy Cole lost badly again last night, giving up 12 hits,7 runs in 5 innings. He can only wish his record was mediocre, but 1-9 is really bad.

Donald said...

It's probably too soon for Rendon to be called up, but if Harper goes to the DL, there's a chance he could be the replacement since that would free up Lombo to play left. My guess though is that the Rendon move to AAA is more in preparation for putting Danny on the DL in a few weeks.

EmDash said...

If the injuries keep piling up, it could potentially end up keeping them around .500, sure. The difference between this situation and the Phillies in 2012 is that their aging star players on untradeable contracts could be expected to be increasingly-injury prone over subsequent years, while the Nats' core is younger, aside from Werth and LaRoche - who, depending on how they plan to use Rendon, might end up traded after the season. So if they manage the injury rehab right - always a question, to be sure - they have a higher chance of rebounding next year.

EmDash said...

Ken Rosenthal reporting on Twitter that Rendon is expected to play mostly 2nd base in AAA.

Eugene in Oregon said...

Good news, finally. Learn fast, Mr. Rendon, and stay healthy.

DJB said...

I hope the Davis recall means Stammen is going to get a start. He has earned it. He seems to have a controlled pitching delivery and keeps the ball low and outside. In big parks, he would be a good fit. Also, the Bryce DL is not unexpected. I would wait until Werth returns, and then move him back to left. The Front Office has to take responsibility for their mismanagement of Harper. To have a 20 year old out on DL is unacceptable. The question is how serious is the knee and whether he is injury prone. Remember, he injured his shoulder and it looked like also an oblique during a check swing. He needs a good talk about maturing his style of play to fit the Majors. This Pete Rose act will not work with his athleticism. If he doesn't change, and is injury prone, we should consider a trade in the next 2 to 3 years. Just keep an eye on it.

baseballswami said...

Question for you-- I was watching last night's game on DVR. Why is that tomahawk chop any less offensive than the name of f the WA NFL team? It's disgusting.

natsfan1a said...

I have to hit the mute button when they start that [stuff].

baseballswami said...

And -- certainly the Barves have to be asking themselves how they lost t that game. I mean, the seventh inning- oh, my.

BigCat said...

I wonder how much Harpers dad is involved with all this

natsfan1a said...

On topic, welcome to Erik and maybe my Chicago/Denver baseball buddy and I will get to see Bryce in Colorado.

NatsNutty said...

Thanks EmDash. Believe it or not, I was born and raised in Filly, but da Fillies is now the team I "luv to hate."

EmDash said...

Harper didn't injure himself on a swing. He was already bruised on his side, from the wall crash, and felt it during his swing.

alexva said...

one scouting report on Davis

has a good knucklecurve and a solid changeup, but as a starter he was limited by his 87-89 MPH fastball. In relief he suddenly started throwing 92-95

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

What if any is the history how fast people return from This knee issue of Harper's.

Not being structual it seems to be healing slower than one would think a 20 year old would heel.

UnkyD said...

DJB: the steady beat of the "Trade Harp" drum.... Talk about your different drummers....

Post a Comment