Washington Nationals News: Escobar targeting Tuesday return from groin strain
By Pablo Roa
Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily! We hope you all enjoyed today’s big win over the Phillies, where Stephen Strasburg‘s dominance gave the Washington Nationals their first series win of the season. With an off day looming tomorrow before the team kicks off a big series against St. Louis on Tuesday, get caught up on all Nats news with some great articles from around the web below.
In today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson discusses Yunel Escobar‘s status after the infielder tweaked his left groin in Friday night’s game against the Phillies. As Ladson notes, Escobar received an MRI on the groin that came back with positive results, and he could be ready to play as early as Tuesday.
Needless to say, this is great news for the Nationals. With the majority of the team’s injured players returning from the disabled list in recent days, the last thing the Nationals needed was for Escobar — arguably their best hitter so far this season — to go on the disabled list. Fortunately for the Nationals, that won’t be the case and he should be back in the lineup when they kickoff their series against the Cardinals.
Also in today’s Daily, the Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell discusses several Nationals players who are playing in the final year of their contracts, and whether or not that is affecting how they play this season.
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For me, this has always been a big question for players entering their ‘walk years’, particularly for players who turned down big money in hopes of being offered even more money after a solid final season. Baseball is an unpredictable game, and a lot of things can happen over the course of a season. As Boswell notes, two Nationals players have already shown signs that their contract situation might be affecting their play, with Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond looking shaky so far this season.
Are their struggles and their contract situations related? Who knows. But as the season goes on, it’ll be interesting to see how these players and the others who are set to hit free agency deal with the pressures of the infamous ‘walk year’.
Be sure to check out the articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.
Escobar targeting Tuesday return from groin strain
WASHINGTON — It looks like Nationals third baseman Yunel Escobar will not need to go on the disabled list. He had an MRI on his left groin recently and the results were encouraging. He tweaked the groin, according to manager Matt Williams.
Escobar showed he was getting better by practicing with the team on the field before Sunday’s game against the Phillies. He was taking batting practice and doing fielding drills without any problems. Read full article here.
The tightrope of baseball’s ‘walk year’
(Thomas Boswell, Washington Post)
Five years ago, Jayson Werth arrived at spring training with the Phillies knowing he would be a prized free agent at the end of that season with a huge contract in the balance.
“How do you feel?” Manager Charlie Manuel asked.
“I feel good,” Werth said.
“No, how do you feel?” Manuel said. Werth understood. Was he mentally and psychologically ready for The Big Payday season?
“Feel good,” Werth said. Read full article here.