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Nationals hire Leeds United doctor to head medical services

Action Images / Carl Recine

WASHINGTON - The Washington Nationals have hired British soccer club Leeds United's Harvey Sharman as executive director of medical services as part of a revamping of the way the baseball team addresses player health issues.

The Nationals also announced they are forming a medical services advisory board as part of their efforts to use analytics to try to ''thwart potential injurious situations,'' the team said in a news release Tuesday.

It's an innovative move for a Nationals team that suffered injuries to key players during their their disappointing 2015 season. Stephen Strasburg, Anthony Rendon, Denard Span, Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, and Doug Fister all spent significant time on the disabled list as the Nationals finished seven games out of first place in the National League East.

The team said in its statement that during his 15 seasons with the Leeds United Football Club, "Sharman oversaw an injury reduction of more than 50 percent, including a significant drop in soft-tissue injuries (muscular/ligament/tendon injuries)."

Among the staff changes: Paul Lessard was hired as director of athletic training after six seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, and Dale Gilbert was hired as an athletic trainer after five seasons with the Texas Rangers.

- With files from theScore

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