Doolittle announced his retirement from baseball Friday.
Doolittle didn't pitch much the last two seasons due to elbow surgery and more recently a knee injury. The soon-to-be 37-year-old is closing the book on what has been a fine career, though, as he finishes with a 3.20 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 522:103 K:BB over 450.2 relief innings across parts of 11 major-league seasons. Doolittle recorded 112 saves, made two All-Star teams and won a World Series with the Nationals in 2019.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Diagnosed with knee strain
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Doolittle has been diagnosed with a patellar tendon strain in his right knee, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.
That explains why Doolittle was placed on the injured list Wednesday at Triple-A Rochester, just as he was seemingly nearing his return to the majors after July 2022 elbow surgery. The veteran reliever will be shut down for the next 7-10 days and there is no longer a clear target date for his 2023 big-league debut.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Placed on minor-league IL
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Doolittle (elbow) was placed on the 7-day injured list Wednesday at Triple-A Rochester, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.
Doolittle looked to be nearing his season debut with the Nationals, but he seems to have suffered a setback in his recovery from July 2022 surgery to repair a partial tear of the UCL in his left elbow. Rochester has yet to provide an exact diagnosis of what led to this latest IL stint.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Moving up to Triple-A
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Doolittle (elbow) has been transferred from Double-A Harrisburg to Triple-A Rochester, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Doolittle holds a 3.86 ERA and 10:2 K:BB over seven innings across seven appearances so far in the minors as he works his way back from an internal brace procedure on his pitching elbow. The veteran reliever shouldn't need too many outings with Rochester before joining the Nationals' bullpen.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Activated off minor-league IL
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Doolittle (elbow) was activated Tuesday off the minor-league injured list, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.
It's mostly a procedural move as Doolittle continues to make rehab appearances with different affiliates in the Nationals' farm system. He is joining Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday after allowing one run over 2.2 innings (three appearances) between Low-A Fredericksburg and High-A Wilmington. The veteran left-hander is 11 months removed from UCL (elbow) surgery and could get the call to Washington after just a few more outings on the farm.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Working back-to-back days
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Doolittle (elbow) is scheduled to pitch Friday at Low-A Fredericksburg, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
This will mark the first back-to-back appearances for Doolittle this year, after he worked a 1-2-3 inning Thursday night. The veteran southpaw could be a consideration for the Nationals' bullpen early next week as he nears the end of his recovery from July 2022 surgery to repair a partial UCL tear in his pitching elbow.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Moving affiliates on rehab
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Doolittle (elbow) had his rehab assignment transferred Tuesday from High-A Wilmington to Low-A Fredericksburg, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
This is not a demotion, as Zuckerman notes, but merely a case of Doolittle moving around between the Nationals' lower-level minor-league affiliates and pitching for whichever team has a string of home games. He should eventually rise to Triple-A Rochester to complete his rehab stint. The veteran lefty reliever required surgery last July to repair a partial tear of the UCL in his left elbow.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Kicks off rehab assignment
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Doolittle (elbow) began a rehab assignment at High-A Wilmington on Saturday and struck out two while allowing one hit in a scoreless inning of relief.
The rehab appearance was Doolittle's first in a competitive game since April 2022, as the veteran southpaw had been shut down with an elbow injury before ultimately undergoing surgery last July. According to Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com, Doolittle's fastball was clocked at around 92 miles per hour, just a tick below his average from the early part of the 2022 season (93.4 mph). He's scheduled to make his next rehab appearance Tuesday and will likely make several appearances in the minors before the Nationals entertain a potential promotion. Doolittle re-signed with Washington on a minor-league deal in the offseason, so he currently resides on Triple-A Rochester's 7-day injured list and doesn't count toward the Nationals' 40-man roster.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Throwing on back-to-back days
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Doolittle (elbow) has begun pitching on back-to-back days at the Nationals' spring training complex in Florida, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Doolittle has been sitting in the 88-92 mph range with his fastball, per Zuckerman, which is actually a marked improvement over where he was a month ago when he first started throwing off a mound. The veteran southpaw could soon be cleared for a minor-league rehab assignment, though there remains no timetable for his return to the Nationals' bullpen. He required surgery last July to repair a partial tear of the UCL in his left elbow.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Throws live batting practice
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Doolittle (elbow) threw live batting practice Tuesday at the Nationals' spring training complex, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.
Doolittle got up to around 20 pitches and Nationals manager Dave Martinez relayed the veteran reliever reported feeling "really good." He appears on track to begin a minor-league rehab assignment before the end of April and could then possibly join the Nats sometime in early-to-mid May. Granted, the timeline has been pushed back quite frequently. Doolittle is recovering from surgery last July to repair a partial tear of the UCL in his left elbow.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Advances to mound work
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Doolittle (elbow) has begun throwing bullpen sessions, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.
The hope is that Doolittle can advance to live batting practice sessions sometime next week and begin a minor-league rehab assignment soon after. He's on track to join the Nationals' bullpen around late April or early May, and is coming off surgery last July to repair a partial tear of the UCL in his left elbow.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Not cleared for mound work
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Doolittle (elbow) had yet to be cleared for mound work as of Thursday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Doolittle has been throwing on flat ground, but it will remain difficult to map out a timetable for his 2023 debut until he begins throwing bullpen sessions. The veteran reliever now seems likely to miss all of April as he recovers from surgery last July to repair a partially torn UCL in his left elbow.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: To rehab at spring complex
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Doolittle (elbow) is remaining at the Nationals' spring training complex in Florida to continue his rehab, per MLB.com.
Doolittle is nearing the end of his recovery from surgery last July to repair a partially torn UCL in his left elbow, but he still has some hurdles to clear. The hope is that the veteran reliever can join the Nats as a high-leverage option sometime before the end of April. He might be in line for save opportunities if his health cooperates, though Kyle Finnegan projects to handle the bulk of the ninth-inning duties.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: High-leverage option when healthy
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Doolittle (elbow) still hasn't seen Grapefruit League action this spring and won't be ready for Opening Day, but he could be the Nationals' top left-handed option in the bullpen when healthy, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
The veteran southpaw doesn't have a lot of competition for that role left in camp, with journeyman Anthony Banda and minor-leaguers Jose Ferrer and Matt Cronin the only left-handed relievers remaining. Ferrer in particular has been seeing work against big-league hitters early in spring games and could open the season on the 26-man roster, but he has yet to pitch above Double-A in his career. Doolittle is in the final stages of his recovery from UCL surgery performed last July, and while the 36-year-old is no longer the pitcher who racked up 78 saves in 2017-19, if he finds himself as the only lefty in the Nationals' bullpen he would be in line for high-leverage work and potentially even some matchup-dependent save chances.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Slowing down rehab program
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Doolittle (elbow) is no longer expected to be ready for Opening Day, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Doolittle hasn't experienced a physical setback in his recovery from July 2022 surgery to address a partially torn UCL in his left elbow, but the Nationals recently decided to slow down his rehab program in an effort to avoid any such hiccups. "Obviously making the Opening Day roster was a goal. But the biggest goal is getting back healthy, and you can't put a timeline on that at this point," the veteran reliever said Tuesday. "Let's be smart about it."
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Cleared for spring
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Doolittle (elbow) said Friday that he'll be a full participant when pitchers and catchers report to spring training in two weeks, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports. "I'm not limited in any way right now," said Doolittle, who underwent an internal brace procedure in July to address a partially torn UCL in his left elbow.
Though Doolittle turned 36 years old in September and is returning from a relatively unproven arm procedure, he's apparently responded well to his five-month rehab program and has since completed 11 bullpen sessions while gradually increasing the intensity of his throwing. The Nationals opted to bring back Doolittle on a minor-league deal in November, and the veteran lefty should have a good chance at breaking camp with a spot on the 40-man roster and 28-man active roster if he avoids any setbacks during the Grapefruit League slate. Before injuring his elbow, Doolittle was in the midst of a strong start to the 2022 campaign, as he had yet to allow a run and put just one runner on base while striking out six over 5.1 frames.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Back with Washington
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Doolittle (elbow) signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Sunday that includes an invitation to major-league spring training, Dan Kolko of MASN Sports reports.
As Kolko notes, this contract will allow Doolittle to remain with the organization while rehabbing from UCL surgery, a procedure he underwent in July. The surgery carries a 5-to-6-month timetable for recovery, so if all goes well, he could be back on the bump in time for spring training.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Undergoing season-ending surgery
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Doolittle (elbow) will have an internal brace procedure to repair his UCL tear, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Doolittle began a throwing program in early June but suffered a setback in his rehab recently. The southpaw will be shut down for the remainder of the season due to the surgery, but the procedure carries a recovery timetable of 5-6 months, so he's expected to be ready to return in time for spring training in 2023. The southpaw made six relief appearances for the Nationals this year and picked up two holds while tossing 5.1 scoreless innings.
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Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Suffers setback in rehab
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Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Thursday that Doolittle will visit a doctor after experiencing soreness in his left elbow during a recent bullpen session, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.
Doolittle initiated his throwing program about five weeks ago after initially landing on the injured list April 20 with a left elbow sprain, so it's somewhat troubling that he's experienced a setback without having even resumed facing hitters at this point in his rehab. The upcoming checkup with the doctor should provide more clarity on Doolittle's next steps, but even if he isn't shut down from throwing, he's unlikely to make it back from the IL until August.
