Nationals reliever Hunter Strickland avoids serious injury during weight room mishap

Strickland may have to pitch with a black eye a la Max Scherzer though

At 49-25, the Washington Nationals have the highest winning percentage in baseball since May 23, and they've played their way into the top National League wild-card spot. They did that despite a shaky bullpen that seems to threaten to blow any lead.

GM Mike Rizzo added three relievers at the trade deadline -- lefty Roenis Elias and righties Daniel Hudson and Hunter Strickland -- with Strickland in particular proving useful. He's allowed one run in seven innings with Washington. With Elias (hamstring) and closer Sean Doolittle (knee) sidelined, Strickland is now in line for save opportunities.

Prior to Tuesday's game against the Pirates (GameTracker), Strickland and the Nationals were given a brief scare when the hard-throwing righty reliever suffered a fluke injury in the weight room. He dropped a bar on his face and had to be bandaged up and sent for tests. 

Hunter Strickland was lifting weights today when a bar fell and struck him in the face. Nose was bandaged, part of face was discolored. He’s heading out to get X-rays now.

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) August 20, 2019

Ouch! There's good news though: Strickland rejoined the team shortly thereafter and played catch on the field Tuesday afternoon. That would seem to indicate he avoided a serious injury.

Strickland is out in right field playing catch right now. Couldn't join the rest of the relievers when they all played catch around 4:30 p.m. because he was getting X-rays. Would seem to indicate his accident isn't too serious.

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) August 20, 2019

Earlier this season Nationals ace Max Scherzer bunted a pitch into his face during batting practice and suffered a broken nose. He was able to make his scheduled start the very next day, albeit with a black eye. From the sound of things, Strickland will be the second Nationals pitcher this year on the mound with a shiner.

Strickland, 30, signed a one-year contract with the Mariners this past offseason, but made only four appearances with the team around a lat injury. He was traded to the Nationals last month and they can retain him next year as an arbitration-eligible player.