Sunday, March 24, 2013

Rodriguez dealing with sore elbow

VIERA, Fla. -- Henry Rodriguez is dealing with "soreness" in his throwing elbow, and though the Nationals insist it's nothing serious, it does at least create the possibility of an available job in the club's Opening Day bullpen.

Rodriguez, who had surgery last summer to remove bone chips in his right elbow, has been brought along slowly this spring but has seen his workload increase over the last week. He pitched five times in a nine-day span from March 14-22 and over his last three innings has allowed three runs while issuing six walks.

Manager Davey Johnson said he's been expecting Rodriguez to experience some soreness with the increased workload and wasn't surprised to learn of the problem this morning.

"It's probably a little inflammation from throwing a lot," Johnson said. "I was expecting that earlier."

The plan, for now, is to see how Rodriguez feels tomorrow and then perhaps have him throw off a bullpen mound on Tuesday. Given the reliever's injury history, the Nationals will take a cautious approach.

"It's not something I'm going to rush him," Johnson said. "I'll go by how he feels."

At this point, the Nationals aren't saying Rodriguez's status for Opening Day is in doubt, but they do have options if he needs to begin the season on the disabled list. Veteran left-hander J.C. Romero signed a minor-league contract on Friday and got enough work in the World Baseball Classic to suggest he's close to ready for game action.

13 comments:

Jim Zurer said...

Hmmm....right on schedule. :) Another stint on the DL for HRod. How convenient.....

sm13 said...

So, who fills the bullpen hole? Abad? Has Bray improved in minorleague camp?

Another_Sam said...

Some wise and cynical insiders saw this coming. LOL I'm among the many who'd like Henry to get it together, but I'm not hopeful. Come on, Henry. I'm pulling for you.

SonnyG10 said...

Jim Zurer said...
Hmmm....right on schedule. :) Another stint on the DL for HRod. How convenient.....
March 24, 2013 11:49 AM


I second that...

Nats fan in NJ said...

Shocked, I tell you, Shocked!! Welcome back, JC...

natsfan1a said...

Me, too, on all counts, Another_Sam.

sjm308 said...

Another_Sam - exactly!!

Drew said...

There is gambling going on in here!

(Here are your winnings.)

Doc said...

I'm an Erik Davis fan.

C'mon up Erik, we have room for your excellent stuff!

SCNatsFan said...

Why not keep Young and make him a long man?

natsfan1a said...

We'll always have Viera.

D'Gourds said...

Just Cut Him Loose! He's A Total Head Case. He's EssentiAlly Worthless To Us And Just Takes Up A Space On Our 40 Man Roster.

Section 222 said...

I'm not wild about Davey's comments. Is it appropriate to work a pitcher to the point that you "expect" elbow soreness? Yikes.

I doubt anyone here is surprised that Henry is likely headed to the DL. The problem is that there is no obvious replacement. Would Young take a long reliever spot? If so, that solves a lot of problems. Stammen can move into a 7th inning vs. lefties role, Young is the 6th starter when necessary. Henry might never come back. But I fear Young would rather be in the rotation somewhere.

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