Nats reliever Harris sidelined by blood clot

Washington reliever Will Harris has a blood clot in his right arm and is leaving spring training camp to be examined by a specialist, manager Dave Martinez said Friday.

“I don’t know much about what’s going to happen here. But for me, when somebody mentions something like that, it’s kind of a scary deal,” Martinez said. “Until we know more about it, then I’ve got to assume that he’s going to not start with us this season.”

Opening Day is April 1, less than two weeks away.

“He felt weird his last outing,” Martinez said. “So we kind of backed off a little bit, got an MRI, and in the arm was a little small blood clot.”

Harris, 36, last pitched in a Grapefruit League game March 9, throwing one scoreless inning against the Astros. The righthander appeared in a B game Saturday.

“Medically, I don’t know the extent of what that is. But I know it’s something that is serious,” Martinez said. “We need to take care of it. Take care of it as soon as possible. And I feel for Will, ’cause I know he was just working his tail off to help us this year.”

Harris was expected to be a lateinning reliever for the Nationals.

“He’s pretty upbeat considering what’s going on,” Martinez said. “Hopefully, we’ll know more sooner than later, and then we can determine what’s going to happen.”

Carrasco sidelined: Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco, who was recovering from an elbow issue, is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks because of a hamstring injury suffered Thursday, the New York Post reported.

Carrasco, who was expected to be part of New York’s rotation, is in remission from leukemia and got the coronavirus vaccine, causing him to start spring training workouts behind other players.

Carrasco, 34, has not appeared in any exhibitions this year. He had stopped throwing for a stretch because of elbow soreness.

“He was running sprints and he felt a pull,” Mets manager Luis Rojas told the Associated Press. “We have pretty good depth. We have a lot of guys that can come and be in that fifth spot.”

Injury report: Brendan Rodgers, expected to be the Rockies’ Opening Day second baseman, will begin the season on the injured list because of a hamstring strain, manager Bud Black said. “He was bummed,” Black said. “He really felt as though this year could be a year for him to really come out and show the talent that he has. He was really excited for that opportunity in a lot of ways.”... White Sox reliever Jimmy Cordero had Tommy John surgery Thursday, the Chicago SunTimes reported. Cordero had a 6.07 ERA in a teamleading 30 appearances last season . ... Arizona reliever Tyler Clippard left an outing against the Brewers on Friday because of shoulder discomfort, MLB.com reported. Clippard failed to retire any of the seven batters he faced.

Briefly: Former Giants pitcher Shaun Anderson, who was competing for a spot in the Twins’ rotation, was optioned to Minnesota’s minorleague camp . ... Former Arizona righthander Zack Godley, who had an 8.16 ERA for the Red Sox in 2020 in eight games, including seven starts, signed a minorleague contract with the Brewers.