Nats encouraged by Harvey news, Abrams named Player of Week

CHICAGO – Hunter Harvey’s MRI revealed a mild right elbow strain, an injury that will sideline the Nationals reliever for a while but was still described as “good news” by manager Davey Martinez, who feared worse.

“Best-case scenario for us,” Martinez said. “We’re going to shut him down for 10 days, and he’ll resume his throwing. We’ll just let it calm down a little bit and build some strength up and get him back as soon as we possibly can.”

Harvey, who reported soreness in his arm after pitching a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th Saturday in St. Louis despite diminished fastball velocity, was officially placed on the 15-day injured list today. The Nationals were prepared to make that transaction no matter the severity of the injury, but club officials were relieved to learn the injury wasn’t more serious or would require surgery.

“Especially with his history, and the way he was feeling, I was very concerned,” Martinez said. “But this came out great. They said everything looks great. He just has a little mild strain in there, and he should be back.”

Harvey’s career has been littered with IL stints, the vast majority of those coming while he was a member of the Orioles organization from the day he was drafted in 2013 until he was placed on waivers after the 2021 season. He did miss 2 1/2 months with a forearm strain last summer after joining the Nats, but he had been a durable fixture in the bullpen since, making 73 big league appearances in the last calendar year with no health issues.

Harvey ascended to the closer’s role this season and was credited with his ninth career save Saturday to go along with a 3.12 ERA, 0.992 WHIP and 45 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings. The 28-year-old was viewed as a potential trade candidate heading into the Aug. 1 deadline, but his injury history and the fact he’s still under club control through 2025 probably made him more likely to stay in D.C. than not.

With Harvey sidelined for at least several weeks, the Nationals will have to reconfigure their bullpen. Kyle Finnegan figures to get the highest-leverage spots in the eighth and ninth innings, with Mason Thompson serving as Martinez’s other most-trusted reliever and Jordan Weems pitching in a setup role.

The Nats replaced Harvey on the roster with Joe La Sorsa, bringing the left-hander back only 10 days after he was sent down to Triple-A. They also activated Patrick Corbin off the paternity list one day before the veteran is scheduled to start against the Cubs and optioned Joan Adon back to Rochester so he can resume a starter’s schedule in case he’s needed in that role later this season.

* The Nationals claimed right-hander Roddery Muñoz off waivers from the Braves, filling a vacant spot on their 40-man roster. Muñoz, 23, will report to Triple-A and pitch in relief after he was placed on waivers by Atlanta. In 22 games (four of them starts) for three Braves affiliates this season, he had a 3.89 ERA and 1.424 WHIP, striking out 40 but walking 26 in only 39 1/3 innings.

“He’s a young pitcher, throws really hard,” Martinez said. “He’s up in the 98-100 (mph range). Needs to throw more strikes, walks a lot of guys. But we like him. We think we can help him here, get him in the strike zone. He’s got electric stuff. We’re excited we got him.”

* CJ Abrams was named National League Player of the Week this afternoon, further validation of the young shortstop’s recent success since moving into the leadoff spot in the lineup.

Abrams went 6-for-13 with a double, a triple, a homer and two stolen bases during the Nats’ three-game weekend series in St. Louis to win the award. In six total games since becoming leadoff hitter, he is 12-for-25 with five steals and a 1.220 OPS.

“It feels good to be able to see what hard work can do,” Abrams said. “The last few weeks I’ve been putting a lot of work in with (hitting coach Darnell Coles). It just feels good to be able to go out there and do my thing.”

* The Nationals announced the signings of their second- through fifth-round picks today, having spent extra to lock up two of their selections from last week’s draft.

Miami third baseman Yohandy Morales, the first pick of the second round, received a $2.6 million signing bonus according to MLB Pipeline, nearly $500,000 above the suggested slot value for that pick. Texas high school right-hander Travis Sykora, the first pick of the third round, also received $2.6 million, nearly $1.6 million above slot.

The Nats, who also announced the signings of fourth-round pick Andrew Pinckney (Alabama outfielder) and fifth-round pick Marcus Brown (Oklahoma State shortstop), saved money from their overall bonus pool by going under-slot on most of their lower-round picks.

They still need to finalize a deal with Dylan Crews, the second overall pick in the draft, who is reportedly seeking more than the roughly $9 million slot assigned to his position. There is no reason to believe the two sides won’t work out a deal before next week’s deadline, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.