Washington Nationals: Koda Glover still nursing sore shoulder

Washington Nationals reliever Koda Glover has been dominant when healthy, but he has struggled to stay on the field. Now, he is hurt once again.

The is an exciting time for the Washington Nationals, as they begin to prepare for what may be the most important season in franchise history. They are well-equipped to go places they have never been, and this is one of their best teams yet.

The Nats’ bullpen, which is typically a weakness to begin the year, is finally a strength. However, there are several relievers who have proven to be exceptionally injury-prone, so the Nats are counting on them to remain healthy in 2018.

This plan has already begun to unravel, as Dave Martinez recently announced that Koda Glover has not thrown yet in spring training.

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Glover, who missed most of 2017 while nursing a sore shoulder, is dealing with shoulder inflammation once again. Fortunately, an MRI revealed that his soreness is nothing more than inflammation. But this is still not the news that the Nats wanted.

When healthy, Glover has the potential to be an elite reliever. His fastball-slider combo is near-unhittable, which enables him to dominate when on the mound. Last year, in his rookie season, he converted eight of 10 save opportunities.

Now that the Nats have Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson, and Brandon Kintzler in tow, Glover is no longer needed to close games. However, he can serve as a lethal middle reliever. With Glover in the sixth inning, Kintzler in the seventh, Madson in the eighth, and Doolittle in the ninth, any lead would seem safe.

Hopefully Glover’s inflammation will settle down quickly and he will be ready for Opening Day, but that may not be the case. He has shown a tendency to attempt to pitch through various injuries, so the Nats will likely proceed with caution.

If Glover is not ready for Opening Day, he will probably be replaced by Wander Suero, Trevor Gott, Austin Adams, or Matt Grace.

Fortunately, the Nats are in a position where they do not necessarily need Glover for the entire regular season. They are all but guaranteed to win the weak National League East, so Glover’s priority should be to ensure he is at full strength in October.

If Glover must miss the beginning of the season, that is perfectly fine. The Nats have enough quality relievers to temporarily make up for his absence. However, he could be an enormous weapon in the postseason.

Glover’s presence in the bullpen shortens games, which could help the Nats finally exorcise their postseason demons. Due to his various injuries, he has yet to pitch in a postseason game.

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Glover’s last appearance of 2017 came in June, so there was hope that he would be healthy and prepared for 2018. Unfortunately, that was not the case. If Glover’s injury issues are a recurring theme this year, they could hold him back once again.