Notes: Harris closing in on debut; Eaton returns

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Will Harris is getting closer. The veteran reliever is working toward his Spring Training debut with Opening Day two weeks away.

“As of right now, I’ll be there,” Harris said of the March 26 road game against the Mets. “I’ll have cleats on. I’ll be ready.”

Harris has been sidelined this spring by a left abdomen injury. He has been throwing off the mound and progressed to throwing with the catcher down on Wednesday. The plan is for him to do the same routine again on Friday.

“[It is] a lower abdominal strain, pull, tear, something like that,” Harris said. “When you go to throw, you feel that pulling in your abs. And the harder you try to throw, the worse it gets. That’s usually a telltale sign you’ve got to quit throwing. That’s kind of what I was dealing with. I took some time off, rehabbed my butt off. I’m working on a four-pack. And then we’ll hopefully get it to a six[-pack] soon.”

Harris connected his current situation to a hernia surgery he had two offseasons ago as a member of the Astros. He appeared in just five games last spring as a result.

“I pitched all last year and it was fine, but I think it was something of a pattern,” Harris said. “I had started to throw and was causing some damage to myself, a few deficiencies. But I got them ironed out, and I don’t feel it now. I’m a lot stronger now than I was in those areas.”

The Nationals signed Harris this past offseason to add another experienced arm to the back end of their bullpen, along with Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson. Last year, Harris led American League relievers with a 1.50 ERA. He is working on and off the field to get healthy for his ninth Major League season.

“A lot of core-stabilization stuff, starting from the ground up and making sure I’m putting myself in the best positions throwing,” Harris said. “Usually those things will carry over to your mound work once you get stronger in certain positions. You can kind of see the fruit of that on the mound, and that’s what we’ve seen so far.”

Eaton returns
Adam Eaton was in the lineup on Wednesday for the first time since exiting the March 3 game because of left hamstring tightness. The Nationals utilized him as the designated hitter, as they did for Victor Robles and Eric Thames upon their returns from injury.

“Took a little time to get the body right,” Eaton said before the Nats’ 6-2 win over the Astros. “Back in there, ready to go.”

The right fielder had been eager to get his ninth season (fourth with the Nationals) underway. Eaton didn’t take off much time following Washington’s World Series run, and he reported to Florida in early January -- more than a month ahead of Spring Training.

“I think it helps and hurts,” said Eaton, who went 0-for-3 with a strikeout Wednesday. “I think with having no time off in the fall, body’s just a little fatigued and it’s kind of taken its toll. You play an extra month longer, and then get 10 days off, 14 days off in the offseason, and then coming back here, you really didn’t have time off. … Got a little bit of a blow. And you feel like everybody gets their bumps and bruises, just happens to not be in a game usually.”

Up next
Patrick Corbin will make his third spring start when the Nationals host the Yankees at 1:05 p.m. ET on Thursday afternoon. The left-hander has thrown five innings in Spring Training, with five strikeouts and a 7.20 ERA.