Rotation Takes a Blow

[Ryan25Zimmerman]

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

VIERA, Fla. -- Frank Robinson said recently that a baseball manager's No. 1 goal during the exhibition season is to have everybody healthy during Spring Training. That won't be the case with the Nationals, as they learned on Saturday that right-hander Brian Lawrence will miss most of the 2006 season with a torn labrum.

Lawrence will have surgery at the Washington Hospital Center in D.C. on Sunday. Dr. Weimi Douoguih, the team's orthopedic physician, will perform the surgery.

The early prognosis is that Lawrence will be out until August, but if his injury is similar to Tony Armas Jr.'s -- in which he had both a torn rotator cuff and labrum -- Lawrence would be out for the rest of the season.

Lawrence began to feel shoulder stiffness early this week. Lawrence thought the soreness was caused by a winter of inactivity. After a few days of rest, he had another bullpen session on Wednesday. Although Lawrence pitched the entire eight minutes on the mound, pitching coach Randy St. Claire thought Lawrence's pitching motion wasn't free and easy.

"He looked guarded on the mound, but he said he felt better," St. Claire said.

By Friday, the pain grew worse and, that evening, Lawrence had an MRI exam performed, which also revealed a lot of wear and tear on his rotator cuff.

Lawrence was acquired from the Padres in the Vinny Castilla trade last November. Lawrence took a physical before the trade was officially announced and there was no indication that Lawrence had arm problems.

"Obviously, it's disappointing," Lawrence said. "Injuries have never been an issue with me. I never felt any pain until the first day I showed up here.

"Hopefully, we'll get this cleared up and I'll be good and strong in August or September."

The Nationals will pay Lawrence a base salary of $3.5 million in 2006. Lawrence also is scheduled to make a roster bonus, which the Padres will pay for. There is also a club option for $7.5 million for 2007 and a buyout for $550,000. If the Nationals chose to buy out Lawrence, Washington will be responsible for $125,000, while San Diego will pay the rest.

Lawrence was one of five players -- along with Armas, Ryan Drese, Ramon Ortiz and Jon Rauch -- who were vying for the last three spots in the rotation.

[KingJ]

Now the trade gets more even: pitcher that can't play because of health issues for third basemen that just can't play. Good thing is that *hopefully* he will be back in time for us to evaluate him as a starter down the home stretch of the season and see if he is worth exercising our 2007 option on him.

[Ryan25Zimmerman]

There is no good thing from this injury. Our rotation goes from:
hernandez
patterson
lawrence
ortiz
drese/armas/rauch

To:
hernandez
patterson
ortiz
drese/armas/rauch
drese/armas/rauch

It goes from a not so great rotation, to a worse rotation. Our bullpen and offense are really going to have to step it up this year. We all know the bullpen will be there but will the offense?

[Bob Hannah]

Lawrence was proclaimed an "innings eater" and the switch to a pitchers park was generally seen as being beneficial to him and the team. With his loss, and no change in personnel, bodes ill for the Nationals. One outcome I see with this is stress on the bullpen. An overworked bullpen burning out too early in the season spells more troubles for the team.

Sure would be nice to trade Soriano for a decent pitcher, but there has to be takers on the market willing to swallow the $10 mil contract. The problem with losing Soriano for pitching is you lose his bat in the lineup. The Nationals have been placed in a tough spot very early into the spring.

[efin98]

At least he went down early in spring and not during the season.

The good news is that he isn't totally lost for the year, and he should be able to ease back into the bullpen and then the rotation. The bad news is that he is projected to come back in August- right in the heart of the Nats' NL East battles(seven series in a row that month!).

I'd look for him to return as reliever possibly around August 21st and as a starter on the September 1st against Arizona as a starter at the earliest.

All is not lost, maybe a trial by fire can spark the team!!!

[eddiejc1]

I really wish this is the worst of our problems. I fear that MLB is going to reject the new lease outright which means this will be the last year the Nats play in Washington before they get contracted...

Eddie Cunningham

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

Originally Posted by Ryan25Zimmerman

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

I want Castilla back!

[KingJ]

Originally Posted by wilkerson_rulz

I want Castilla back!

Castilla would've likely been released if he had kept him (small contract, no production, no spot on the roster). At least we have a starting pitcher for the final 2 months of the season and 2007 if he does good.

[Monarchs29]

Here's an idea. The Mets are looking for a 2B, why not give them Vidro for Zambrano, or someone else you guys think could fill the gap. Obviously, Pedro will not be available, and Glavine is iffy.

It solves two problems. Soriano can then play 2B and the Nats get a starter.

Your thoughts?

Personally, I think Lawrence was injured before he got here, take a look at his stats for 2005...

He had one complete in his last 10 and in a few of those last 10, he only threw for 3-4 innings, or less.

[KingJ]

Originally Posted by Monarchs29

The Mets are looking for a 2B, why not give them Vidro for Zambrano, or someone else you guys think could fill the gap.

Zambrano and Traschel aren't much better than Drese, Pedro is injured, Glavine is way past his prime, Seo was already traded, Benson was already traded, and Heilman is totally off the table.

We signed Pedro Astacio today to replace Lawrence. Astacio can be just as good as Lawrence:

Pedro Astacio career
124-119 W-L
204 innings per season
2.33 strikeouts per walk

Brian Lawrence career
49-61 W-L
206 innings per season
2.27 strikeouts per walk

ERA is kind of bad because Astacio has pitched his entire career in huge offensive divisions with offensive ballparks like the AL East, AL West, and NL West. NL East should be a breath of fresh air. Plus, Randy St. Claire can fix these guys it seems.

[Ryan25Zimmerman]

We signed Astacio and were making him take an MRI before we sign him LOL

VIERA, Fla. -- In need of starting pitching because of the injury to Brian Lawrence, the Nationals signed right-hander Pedro Astacio to a one-year Major League deal, pending a physical, on Monday evening.

Learning their lesson from the Lawrence trade, the Nationals will have Astacio take an MRI exam on his shoulder and elbow on Wednesday in Melbourne, Fla. General manager Jim Bowden said he will not talk about the signing until that day.

According to a baseball source, the Nationals improved their original offer of a Minor League deal with an invitation to Spring Training to a $700,000 contract, plus incentives, on Sunday. If he makes the team out of Spring Training, Astacio will get a $500,000 bonus. The right-hander also could make $2 million worth of incentives during the season.

The Nationals beat out the Padres, Reds and Rockies for Astacio's services. Washington is not concerned with the fact that Astacio was a combined 6-10 with a 4.69 ERA with the Rangers and Padres last year. The Nationals recognize that Astacio, 36, was one of the best pitchers for the Padres, who won the National League West title in 2005. He went 4-2 with a 3.17 ERA for San Diego, and 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA in the final month of the season.

RFK will do him well. If he makes the rotation thats a steal in any fantasy league IMO