The Nationals optioned Henry to Triple-A Rochester on Monday.
Henry was added to the Nationals' 40-man roster this winter, but that move was made primarily to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft rather than being an acknowledgement that the 24-year-old right-hander is big-league ready. He looks like he'll at least get his first taste of the Triple-A level to begin the 2024 season, despite posting an ugly 10.31 ERA and 1.99 WHIP across 18.1 innings at Double-A Harrisburg in 2023. The Nationals are hopeful that he'll be able to resolve some of the command and control woes that plagued him at Double-A now that he's nearly 19 months removed from the thoracic outlet syndrome surgery he underwent in August 2022.
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Nationals' Cole Henry: Selected to 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Nationals selected Henry to their 40-man roster Tuesday.
Henry missed a lot of time between the 2022-23 seasons while recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, but he's healthy now and will try to make his way back up the Nats' organizational prospect rankings in 2024. Being added to the 40-man roster means he'll be protected from selection in next month's Rule 5 Draft.
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Nationals' Cole Henry: Activated from MiLB IL
Rotowire
Henry (shoulder) was activated from the minor-league injured list Tuesday, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.
Henry will join the starting rotation at Double-A Harrisburg after completing his rehabilitation from August 2022 thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The 23-year-old did a four-start rehab run with Low-A Fredericksburg and High-A Wilmington and posted an encouraging 1.20 ERA and 16:3 K:BB over 15 innings. He should eventually rise back to Triple-A Rochester.
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Nationals' Cole Henry: Successful first rehab start
Rotowire
Henry (shoulder) struck out five over three scoreless innings in his first rehab start for Single-A Fredericksburg on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old righty has success under his belt at Double-A in 2022 and reached as high as Triple-A, so he should be expected to carve up a Single-A lineup. Nonetheless, thoracic outlet syndrome can ruin careers, so it's encouraging that his recovery has gone well thus far. He should head to the Triple-A Rochester rotation once he completes his rehab assignment in a week or two.
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Nationals' Cole Henry: Opens season on shelf
Rotowire
Triple-A Rochester placed Henry (shoulder) on the 7-day injured list Friday.
Henry appears to be progressing well in his recovery from the thoracic outlet syndrome surgery he underwent last August, as he was cleared to resume facing hitters just over a month ago. The right-hander still likely requires some additional time to ramp back up fully, but once he's ready for game action, he should settle into a spot in the Rochester rotation.
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Nationals' Cole Henry: Getting thoracic outlet surgery
Rotowire
Henry (shoulder) is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery Aug. 28 to address thoracic outlet syndrome, Grant Paulsen of 106-7 The Fan Washington reports.
After getting a promotion from Double-A Harrisburg on June, Henry made just two starts for Triple-A Rochester before he was shut down two months ago due to tenderness in his right shoulder. Subsequent tests have revealed that Henry is dealing with a condition that can derail pitchers' careers, and he'll soon have the same procedure that recently kept Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg out of game action for nearly 10 months. For the moment, the Nationals are optimistic that Henry will be cleared for spring, but even if that comes to fruition, expect him to be built up slowly to begin the 2023 season.
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Nationals' Cole Henry: Promoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
Henry was promoted from Double-A Harrisburg to Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Henry was dominant in Harrisburg early in 2022, posting a 0.76 ERA and 0.60 WHIP in 23.2 innings over seven starts. After missing time last year due to elbow soreness, the team appeared to be managing his workload in 2022 since he didn't last longer than four innings in any of his Double-A starts. However, the righty will still be rewarded with a promotion to the Triple-A level. The 22-year-old has responded well to improved competition over the last few years, and it's possible he's in the mix to join the Nationals late in 2022 or sometime in 2023.
