Clippard returns to Nats on Minors deal

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Eight years since last wearing a curly ‘W,’ right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard is donning the uniform for the team that has stayed on his mind.

“Everything about my experience when I was in Washington was positive,” Clippard said Saturday morning in front of his locker at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. “They’re my fondest memories in the game, and I wanted to always do it again. So here we are.”

Clippard, 37, is back in camp with the Nationals on a Minor League contract as a Spring Training non-roster invitee. He had been a free agent until his agent reached out to general manager Mike Rizzo recently, and Clippard rejoined the team in a matter of days. He arrived having thrown eight live BP sessions and eager to get to work.

“A guy like Tyler who has pitched in high-leverage situations, he understands the back end of the bullpen,” manager Dave Martinez said before the Nationals’ 4-2 loss to the Mets on Saturday at Clover Park. “It’s nice to have him. ... He said he’s always felt like his heart was a National. I said, ‘Welcome back, and [I’m] looking forward to you helping us go out there and win games.”

Clippard left his mark on the Nats with a durability that propelled him to 414 appearances over 464 frames from 2008-14, during which he went 34-24 with 34 saves. He holds the team records (2005-present) in games played by a pitcher and ERA with a minimum of 250 innings pitched (2.68). Clippard impressed with his go-to pitches then, and he has an expanded repertoire to show the Nationals, including a sweeping curveball and a two-seamer.

“I think the foundation of who I am, the nuts and bolts of who Tyler Clippard is, is never going to change -- the fastball, changeup, of course,” he said. “But obviously, when you’re in the game and you age in the game, you have to make adjustments. ... [I’ve] definitely evolved, got a few new toys in the chest and [am] doing all sorts of fun things out there now.”

Since being traded from the Nationals to the Athletics in exchange for Yunel Escobar in January of 2015, Clippard has played for the Mets, D-backs, Yankees, White Sox, Astros, Blue Jays, Guardians and Twins. Last year -- in his second stint with Arizona -- he was limited to 26 appearances (25 1/3 innings) because of a capsule sprain in his right shoulder and did not make his season debut until July 21. Clippard described the injury as “kind of a fluke,” and he noted he feels “way better” now. He credits his hypermobility and disciplined routine to helping him bounce back and be healthy for a 16th season with 867 1/3 innings on his resume.

“It’s been a really fun ride, and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I had some pretty special stuff still left in the tank,” Clippard said.

There are aspects to Clippard’s first chapter with the Nationals that stay familiar nearly a decade later. Stephen Strasburg, who was in the early stages of his career at the time, is a few lockers away. Clippard plans to use the same walk-in music, “Ready or Not” by The Fugees. He also keeps in touch with former Nats, including Ryan Zimmerman, Craig Stammen, Tom Gorzelanny, John Lannan, Sean Burnett, Ian Desmond and Drew Storen, with whom he is starting a corn whiskey business.

“I’ve been so many different places,” Clippard said. “There’s an element of being here where my heart is in it. I kind of left my heart here, because I was here for so long and we went through so much. ... You don’t have those emotional connections to each organization that you’re in. But I do here. For me, that’s going to help.”