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With some tired relievers in the bullpen and some injury issues in the outfield, the Washington Nationals have reportedly shuffled things up a bit this afternoon.
According to reports from Atlanta, where the Nationals are preparing to take on the Braves in the second game of a three-game weekend set, the Nats have made several roster moves to address their needs.
The first appears to be a swap of relievers with 25-year-old right-hander Blake Treinen getting a call up from Triple-A Syracuse and righty Aaron Barrett getting sent down so the Nationals can have a "fresh" arm in the pen.
Barrett, 26, has already made six appearances this season, giving up a hit and two walks in 4 1/3 IP over which he's struck out six batters.
Treinen and Barrett were surprise contenders for the last spot in the Nationals' bullpen this spring.
In five innings with the Nats' top affiliate so far, Treinen, the former Oakland A's prospect acquired last winter in the three-team deal that sent Michael Morse to the Mariners, has given up three hits, two walks and two unearned runs.
CSNWashington.com's Mark Zuckerman wrote on Twitter in the last hour that Treinen was informed of the team's plans last night:
Barrett says he was sent to AAA strictly because Nats needed fresh bullpen arm. Was told he could be back in 10 days or so.
— Mark Zuckerman (@ZuckermanCSN) April 12, 2014
Treinen got the call at 11:30 last night. Went to hotel lobby in Scranton to call parents, saw Souza there doing the same thing.
— Mark Zuckerman (@ZuckermanCSN) April 12, 2014
There also appears to be something going on in the outfield with Jayson Werth out of the starting lineup after he was pulled late last night with a tight groin.
• Here's tonight's lineup:
#Nats lineup @ #Braves: Rendon 2B, McLouth RF, Zimmerman 3B, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Harper CF, Frandsen LF, Leon C, Jordan P
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 12, 2014
Nats' skipper Matt Williams told reporters last night that Werth's groin tightened up so he left the game early.
"He had a little groin tweak tonight," Williams said. "So we decided it was best to get him out of there and reevaluate tomorrow, but a little bit of tightness."
While Werth is reportedly listed on the lineup card, Denard Span is not:
Denard Span & Aaron Barrett are no longer listed on Nats lineup card. Matt Williams had said Span was ok after yesterday's collision.
— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) April 12, 2014
Span collided with Dan Uggla while rounding first on his RBI single in the eighth last night, but the Nats' center fielder stayed in the game and Williams said afterwards there were no problems.
"He's fine," Williams said last night. "Uggla's okay too, I asked Danny."
No word on what if anything is wrong with Span, but we'll update after Williams talks to the press before tonight's game...