Nationals' Sean Doolittle: Diagnosed with knee strain

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.