JUPITER, Fla. -- Though Christian Garcia's chances of making the Nationals' Opening Day roster already looked unrealistic because of a sprained wrist, Nationals manager Davey Johnson quashed any last-ditch hopes for the right-hander today."No possibility," Johnson said when asked if there was still a chance Garcia could come north with the club as a reliever.
Garcia hasn't appeared in any games this spring after experiencing soreness in his right wrist and lower forearm early in camp. He's been diagnosed with a sprained tendon and is scheduled to be examined by a specialist in Baltimore on Sunday.
Even if he's given the green light to resume throwing, Garcia won't have enough time to get his arm back into shape before the season opens April 1. Johnson said he'll almost certainly spend time on the disabled list and remain at extended spring training in Viera while rehabbing the arm.
"We'll probably keep him down here once he starts throwing, see where he's at," the manager said.
The Nationals were hoping to stretch Garcia out this spring, giving him a chance to start at Class AAA Syracuse and potentially serve as a fill-in starter should someone from their rotation get hurt. The club still plans to try him as a starter, though the timetable will obviously be delayed.
Garcia's injury further clarifies the one true roster battle in camp this spring: the final spot in the Nationals' bullpen. With Garcia hurt and lefty Bill Bray already demoted to minor-league camp, the job will be Henry Rodriguez's if the right-hander can remain healthy.
8 comments:
Christian Garcia we barely knew you. Hope you recover quick and get back to the bigs.
Nothing hurt. Keep him down in Fla where its warm. Bring it along slowly. Its a loooong year.
Re: Haren - Haren seems likely to have his ERA fluctuate wildly, more than any of our other starters, at this stage - if he's on he's great, and if he's not he'll be disastrous. Low-velocity guys seem to have less room for error that way. Kind of a highwire act, which is probably going to be hard on our nerves this year.
Re: the WBC - I wonder if, assuming they win tonight, Detwiler will get the start for the seeding game tomorrow? If Gio's still lined up to get the start in the finals, they'll need an extra starting pitcher. Of course, it could be they've adjusted to give Gio the semi-final game and Dickey the final, but that'd be less fun for me (and Gio would have to pitch with more jet-lag), so I hope they keep it lined up as-is.
@ZuckermanCSN: Sounds similar to Desmond last summer. Missed 5 wks. MT @AdamRubinESPN Alderson says David Wright has moderate intercostal strain on side.
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As bad as the Mets are, what a huge blow if they are without David Wright for Opening Day and a big chunk of April.
It does sound like he has been feeling it for a while and playing through it. He just could not pass up a chance to hit in that lineup. He may never come up with the bases loaded again the entire season. Didn't he have cracked vertebra or something , though. Time for the rest of Team USA to step up.
Get well Christian....
MPHrod will be fantastic this year out of the bullpen. Okay, yes, that is a wish more then a prediction but I still have the memories of him blazing away hitters.
Man can't Christian catch a break?
Interestingly, his dad wouldn't let him pitch until his final year of high school, and he still ended up with 2 TJ's and shoulder surgery.
Let's hope that he has a productive time in the minors this year, and makes it back up.
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