WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Sammy SolÃs understands why people discount him when configuring their versions of the bullpen the Nationals will take north for their March 29 season opener in Cincinnati.
After the way the left-hander pitched last season - taking steps back in games pitched, innings, ERA and WHIP as he battled injury and inconsistency from the get-go - SolÃs knows he has to both prove himself and earn the trust of new manager Davey Martinez.
"Last season was ups and downs, a lot more downs than ups for me," he said. "I want to make sure we don't have that again."
SolÃs posted a 1-0 record and career-worst marks in ERA (5.88) and WHIP (1.346) in a season wrecked by 10 weeks on the disabled list with a confusing left elbow problem and a demotion to Triple-A Syracuse for two weeks in July.
"Trying to pitch in games without feeling in half of my hand, that was tough," SolÃs said. "And trying to justify being on the team. They optioned me down and I couldn't even be mad at that point because I deserved it. At that point, my arm wasn't bouncing back and when you're not helping the team, you're hurting the team."
But SolÃs was hurting, period. What was first diagnosed as elbow inflammation in mid-April, then reclassified as nerve inflammation in his left elbow, really had nothing to do with his elbow at all. But it took twice-weekly sessions with an Arizona-based naturopath specializing in nerve pain and damage to get to the root of the problem.
"She really helped me calm it down and we found out it wasn't really stemming from my elbow at all, which was what we thought," he saids. "It was stemming from my neck. That was encouraging. ... It wasn't really a nerve blockage, it was just being choked off by a few strained muscles in my neck. Once we found that out, it was kind of smooth sailing."
SolÃs is hoping he can take what he learned about how to deal with the strained neck muscles in the offseason and combine it with the second half that showed some promise: 20 outings cover 18 2/3 innings that produced a 2.41 ERA and 0.857 WHIP, numbers more in line with his first two major league campaigns.
But as soon as he figured out his health issues, a new concern cropped up, one that the southpaw largely has no control over. After closer Sean Doolittle, the Nationals are expected to carry two more left-handers in their seven-man bullpen and there are three lefties battling for those spots - SolÃs, Matt Grace and Enny Romero.
But Grace and Romero are out of options, meaning the Nationals would have to pass through waivers (and risk them being claimed by another club) to be sent to the minors. SolÃs, on the other hand, has one option remaining, meaning the Nats can move him freely between the majors and minors.
"There aren't too many spots in there, but it's not my job to work out how we're going to do that," SolÃs said. "It's my job to be prepared and be ready when the phone rings down there. We'll see how it pans out."
Complicating matters is the close friendship between Grace and SolÃs, who are rooming together this spring.
"We're different pitchers," SolÃs explained. "It doesn't come down to us competing with each other. We're competing for a bullpen spot. Grace is a sinkerballer, a 92-93 (mph) guy who gets ground balls. I'm more of a power pitcher who can go multiple innings. Those are two completely separate positions. We'll see what they need. Honestly, I can't say as far as what I think they'll need or what I think we have. Obviously, we have a strong back end of the bullpen, but there's some room to improve in the middle relief and setup roles."
Now healthy, SolÃs is determined to claim one of the 'pen spots. Having a remaining option is the furthest thing from his mind.
"I don't think I have to prove anything," he said. "I think they're well aware of what I can do when I'm healthy and 100 percent. To me, when I'm 100 percent, I belong in that bullpen and expect to be in that bullpen. I'll leave the rest up to them."