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Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) just reported on Twitter that the Nats were, "... waiting until a little later this morning (West Coast) to make a call on if Ryan Zimmerman goes to DL. Team officials, docs consulting." D.C. GM Mike Rizzo didn't offer any updates on the condition of the 27-year-old Washington Nationals' third baseman's injured right shoulder during The Mike Rizzo Show on 106.7 the FAN this afternoon, telling hosts Holden Kushner and Danny Rouhier, "We're not sure. He had an MRI yesterday. We'll find out a little bit more here. He feels good. It could be a day, it could be a couple of days. but we'll see what the MRI shows us and once our doctor takes a look at that he'll let me know and we'll make plans accordingly."
Though the general manager said he wouldn't get into speculation on potential roster moves should Zimmerman miss any significant amount of time, Rizzo did state the obvious, saying "If it's a couple of weeks we'll obviously have to make a roster move, but I'm not going to get into any kind of ifs or buts or that type of thing. When we find out we'll make plans. We've got plans in place for a lot of different scenarios like we we always do and we'll be prepared when the decision is rendered by the doctors."
The Nats' GM did touch on a few other subjects of interest, however. Asked about 25-year-old '08 16th Round pick Tyler Moore, Rizzo told 106.7 the Fan's hosts that he was in Rochester, New York today to see the 2010 Nats' Minor League player of the year and the other Nats' prospects in person as the Syracuse Chiefs take on the Minnesota Twins' top affiliate. Moore, in his first year at Triple-A Syracuse after putting up a .269/.321/.552 line with 43 doubles and 31 HR's at Class-A Potomac in 2010 and posting a .270/.314/.532 line with 35 doubles and 31 HR's at Double-A Harrisburg in 2011, is off to another hot start at the plate with a .290/.357/.613 slash, two doubles and six home runs in his first 17 games and 62 at bats with the Nats' top affiliate.
Moore's been moved out to left field recently, which is an obvious position of need for the Nationals right now with Michael Morse out indefinitely and the current options producing a combined .109/.219/.141 line in left field so far this season. Asked if he'd given any consideration to bringing Moore up to fill that role, the GM said, "I have to lay eyes on him and see how he handles left field. It's a new position for him. He's a very good hitter. He's produced for us for the last three seasons and we like the prospects of him being a National in the near future, but I'm not sure how near that future is."
There were a lot of articles written this morning about Tyler Clippard's recent battles on the mound in long at bats and long innings. Asked about some of the high pitch counts he's thrown in recent relief appearances and whether or not opposing hitters might be getting a better look at the notoriously hard-to-hit 27-year-old right-hander's pitches than they used to, Rizzo joked, "Well, you're really narrowing it down to, not only do you have to get guys out, but you've got to get them out in a certain amount of pitches now." Rizzo likes what he's seen though, adding, "He has battled, he battles all the time and he's a consumate professional. He's a big-time major league reliever. He's been very, very effective for us. They pay those other guys too, that do some hitting. We're very satisfied with what he does."
Another reliever whose name got a mention was Henry Rodriguez. Davey Johnson said the other night that Brad Lidge's recent struggles hadn't shaken his confidence in the veteran reliever, and the GM added when asked if Rodriguez had separated himself and taken over the closer's role, that it was his manager's decision to make. "That's a question for Davey Johnson and Steve McCatty," Rizzo said, "I trust both of those guys in the late innings of games. Brad's done it for many, many years in the toughest and tightest situations you could possibly be in, so I've got great trust in [Lidge]. I've got great trust in Henry and the rest of the bullpen. You look at Sean Burnett, who's thrown extremely well, and it goes all the way down the line to [Craig] Stammen, [Ryan] Mattheus and the rest of them, you've got to look very, very hard to find a flaw in the rotation and the bullpen."
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