WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The reports they heard were encouraging, but just to be sure for themselves the Nationals sent a team athletic trainer to evaluate right-hander Shawn Kelley in about mid-January. He had just started throwing for the first time in the offseason and his arm felt much better through his first few sessions than it had the past few years.
The Nationals are excited about having Kelley healthy for 2018, an idea made possible after the stem-cell procedure Kelley underwent following the 2017 season. He had the procedure in order to help heal the elbow injuries he had that cut his season short in '16.