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Washington Nationals re-sign Sean Doolittle to minor league deal; decline 2023 option for Nelson Cruz

Hours after the 2022 MLB season officially ended, Washington’s Nationals announced their first move of the offseason, bringing veteran reliever Sean Doolittle back into the fold on a minor league deal with an invite to 2023 Spring Training, as the club announced on Sunday morning.

Doolittle, 36, signed a 1-year/$1.5M deal with the Nats last March, after pitching for Cincinnati and Seattle in 2021, but landed on the Injured List with a left elbow sprain in April, and went on the 60-Day IL after receiving a PRP injection in May.

Before the elbow issues, the southpaw tossed 5 1⁄3 scoreless in his second stint with the Nationals, striking out six without walking anyone, and he was starting to throw and build back up when he suffered a setback.