The Nationals are down to three trustworthy starting pitchers at an important point in the season after placing ace right-hander Max Scherzer (back strain) on the injured list.
The move was made retroactive to July 10, meaning Scherzer could return as early as July 20 to face the NL East-leading Braves. Scherzer told reporters Friday that he began feeling the strain after a start in Detroit on June 30. He made his next start on July 6 but then skipped the All-Star Game. He was hoping to have his next start pushed back just two days, from Sunday to Tuesday.
"Everybody has a very good bead on what this is. We just know it’s not major. We know it's minor. That’s where we’ve been kind of lucky to have the All-Star break to get the rest that I need," Scherzer said, per masnsports.com. "I was hoping to pitch Sunday, but the math is just not going to work out for that.”
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The red-hot Nats are six games behind Atlanta heading into Sunday. The teams will play a four-game series in Atlanta beginning Thursday. After having Monday off, Washington will play 16 days in a row through July 31. Those factors make a quick return by Scherzer most desirable.
Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez comprise Washington's rotation at the moment. The Nats have four internal options to fill two spots — Erick Fedde, Kyle McGowin, Joe Ross and Austin Voth. Only McGowin is on the major league roster, and none of the four has stood out with the Nats this year. Fedde (3.79 ERA) has been the best of the lot. The ERAs for the other three, albeit in small sample sizes: McGowin, 9.90; Ross, 11.05; Voth, 5.52.
There have been no reports of the Nats pushing to acquire a starter before the July 31 trade deadline, but the front office might be forced to act if Scherzer has to miss multiple starts.
