VIERA, Fla. — Stephen Strasburg was sent to the minor leagues on Saturday by the Nationals, who told baseball’s top pitching prospect he needed to slow down his delivery from the stretch in order to speed up his arrival in the majors.
“I’m not a believer that a player can come from amateur baseball and step right into the major leagues,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said. “I’ve seen terrific prospects attempt it, and the failure rate is too great. This is a prized asset.”
Displaying a fastball that reached 98 mph, Strasburg went 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA and struck out 12 in nine spring-training innings.
Wood is sidelined once again
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Indians closer Kerry Wood, with a long history of injuries and surgeries, could miss two months with a strained muscle in his upper back, an injury that was not initially believed to be serious.
Trainer Lonnie Soloff said an MRI on Wood revealed a “moderate” strain. Soloff said Wood would be out a minimum of six weeks.
Footnotes.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen asked his son to resign from his position with the team’s scouting department in part over comments he made on Twitter that the White Sox sought to tone down.
• Rays catcher Dioner Navarro suffered what the team called a nerve contusion in his left leg during a home-plate collision in a loss to the Twins.
• Roy Oswalt will be the Astros’ opening-day starter for the eighth consecutive year, extending his club record.
• Alan Embree agreed to a minor-league deal with the Red Sox.
The Associated Press
