Nationals reliever Derek Law says he won't be ready for Opening Day
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Derek Law never wants to stop pitching. He tossed 90 innings out of the Washington Nationals bullpen last year, and was on pace to break the franchise's single-season relief innings record if not for a stint on the injured list in August. Law dealt with right elbow flexor strain with ulnar nerve irritation at the time, which lingered over the winter and led to a late start at spring training.
He felt more sore than usual as he tried to ramp up, particularly the day after he would pitch in a game or a do a bullpen session. This means Law will not be ready for Opening Day this coming Thursday, he said.
'Just hasn't really got there recovery-wise where I would like to,' Law said Saturday morning. 'So obviously if I can't do that right now to the best of my abilities, then I don't really want to start a season like that and potentially be on and off all season.'
Law described the feeling as 'general soreness,' though he doesn't have a diagnosis yet. Law assumed he will head to the 15-day injured list; the team has not yet made an official decision. He figures he won't need all 15 days to recover, but he will have to stay on the list regardless. He said he might have been able to pitch through it, but didn't want to aggravate anything. He isn't too concerned.
'I was bummed originally, just because the whole Opening Day thing is super special,' Law said. 'It's hard to make a team and get on it. I've been on both sides of that. It's super special. But also, you have to look at the bigger picture. If I'm not available in September and August when we're in the hunt, then what's it for?'
This means that, outside of Law, there are four locks to make the bullpen out of camp (Kyle Finnegan, Jorge López, Jose A. Ferrer, Lucas Sims). Before Saturday's game, the team also added left-hander Colin Poche to the 40-man roster. This all but locks Poche into making the Opening Day roster as well. Nationals Manager Dave Martinez said he would ideally like to have two relievers who could throw multiple innings on the roster. If Law is out, that would likely leave three spots left. All four relievers fighting for those spots — right-handers Orlando Ribalta, Eduardo Salazar, Brad Lord and Jackson Rutledge — have shown they can handle pitching multiple innings this spring.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Nationals take home losing streak into matchup with the Marlins
Miami Marlins (26-41, fifth in the NL East) vs. Washington Nationals (30-39, fourth in the NL East) Washington; Saturday, 1:05 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Cade Gibson (1-3, 0.93 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 12 strikeouts); Nationals: Trevor Williams (3-7, 5.91 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 49 strikeouts) Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals host the Miami Marlins looking to stop their three-game home skid. Washington is 30-39 overall and 15-19 at home. The Nationals are ninth in the NL with 66 total home runs, averaging 1.0 per game. Miami has a 12-21 record in road games and a 26-41 record overall. The Marlins have a 22-8 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents. Saturday's game is the fifth time these teams square off this season. The Marlins have a 3-1 advantage in the season series. TOP PERFORMERS: James Wood has 17 doubles and 17 home runs for the Nationals. Jose Tena is 8 for 34 with four doubles, a triple and four RBIs over the past 10 games. Advertisement Kyle Stowers leads the Marlins with 10 home runs while slugging .466. Agustin Ramirez is 8 for 44 with three home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 2-8, .220 batting average, 4.70 ERA, outscored by 23 runs Marlins: 3-7, .264 batting average, 5.17 ERA, outscored by 12 runs INJURIES: Nationals: Dylan Crews: 10-Day IL (back), Paul DeJong: 10-Day IL (face), Orlando Ribalta: 15-Day IL (biceps), Derek Law: 15-Day IL (forearm), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow), Mason Thompson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow) Marlins: Ryan Weathers: 60-Day IL (lat), Jesus Tinoco: 15-Day IL (forearm), Max Meyer: 15-Day IL (hip), Derek Hill: 10-Day IL (wrist), Rob Brantly: 60-Day IL (lat), Griffin Conine: 60-Day IL (arm), Andrew Nardi: 60-Day IL (back), Braxton Garrett: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Associated Press
5 hours ago
- Associated Press
Nationals take home losing streak into matchup with the Marlins
Miami Marlins (26-41, fifth in the NL East) vs. Washington Nationals (30-39, fourth in the NL East) Washington; Saturday, 1:05 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Cade Gibson (1-3, 0.93 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 12 strikeouts); Nationals: Trevor Williams (3-7, 5.91 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 49 strikeouts) BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals host the Miami Marlins looking to stop their three-game home skid. Washington is 30-39 overall and 15-19 at home. The Nationals are ninth in the NL with 66 total home runs, averaging 1.0 per game. Miami has a 12-21 record in road games and a 26-41 record overall. The Marlins have a 22-8 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents. Saturday's game is the fifth time these teams square off this season. The Marlins have a 3-1 advantage in the season series. TOP PERFORMERS: James Wood has 17 doubles and 17 home runs for the Nationals. Jose Tena is 8 for 34 with four doubles, a triple and four RBIs over the past 10 games. Kyle Stowers leads the Marlins with 10 home runs while slugging .466. Agustin Ramirez is 8 for 44 with three home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 2-8, .220 batting average, 4.70 ERA, outscored by 23 runs Marlins: 3-7, .264 batting average, 5.17 ERA, outscored by 12 runs INJURIES: Nationals: Dylan Crews: 10-Day IL (back), Paul DeJong: 10-Day IL (face), Orlando Ribalta: 15-Day IL (biceps), Derek Law: 15-Day IL (forearm), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow), Mason Thompson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow) Marlins: Ryan Weathers: 60-Day IL (lat), Jesus Tinoco: 15-Day IL (forearm), Max Meyer: 15-Day IL (hip), Derek Hill: 10-Day IL (wrist), Rob Brantly: 60-Day IL (lat), Griffin Conine: 60-Day IL (arm), Andrew Nardi: 60-Day IL (back), Braxton Garrett: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
5 hours ago
Agustín Ramírez homers twice to power Marlins past Nationals 11-9
WASHINGTON -- Rookie Agustín Ramírez hit two home runs and Eric Wagaman had three RBIs to help the Miami Marlins hand the Washington Nationals their sixth straight loss, 11-9 on Friday night in a game that included a rain delay of more than two hours. Ramírez hit a solo shot off Nationals starter Mitchell Parker (4-7) in the first for a 1-0 lead and then hit his 10th of the season leading off a four-run third as Miami took a 6-0 lead. It was Ramírez's second multihomer game after hitting two solo shots in a 7-6 loss to Seattle on April 27. Wagaman had an RBI double and Dane Myers added a two-run double as Miami built the six-run advantage. CJ Abrams reached on an infield hit and James Wood followed with his 17th homer to get the Nationals within 6-2 after three. Fortes and Xavier Edwards had RBI singles in the fifth following a delay of 2 hours, 14 minutes for an 8-2 lead. Wood hit a two-run double and Nathaniel Lowe, Alex Call and Keibert Ruiz followed with RBI singles as Washington scored five times in the seventh to pull within 8-7. Miami answered with Wagaman's two-run single and Connor Norby's RBI groundout in the eighth. Edwin Cabrera allowed two runs in a three-inning start for Miami. Tyler Phillips (1-0) got two outs for the win. Parker allowed six runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. Jackson Rutledge got the final two outs in the fourth before the second delay and then allowed two runs. Jose A. Ferrer was tagged for three runs on four hits in an inning. Miami has won three of four against Washington this season. Calvin Faucher allowed a one-out single before getting groundouts from Robert Hassell III and Abrams to finish off his sixth save in nine opportunities. Miami's minus-91 run differential is the second worst in the NL followed by Washington at minus-60. Miami had not announced who will start Saturday's game opposite Washington RHP Trevor Williams (3-7, 5.91).
