The Nationals will wait a couple of days before deciding who will take Michael Soroka’s place in the rotation, with Brad Lord a distinct option if the rookie isn’t needed out of the bullpen before then.
Soroka was supposed to start Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks but was placed on the 15-day injured list today (backdated to April 1) with a right biceps strain. The 27-year-old made his debut Monday night in Toronto but had to be pulled three pitches into the sixth inning when his biceps muscle cramped while delivering a slider.
Soroka was cautiously optimistic at the time the injury wasn’t serious and that he’d be able to take his next turn in the rotation. The one caveat: He needed to be able to throw off a mound first before knowing he would be good to go.
That bullpen session never happened. According to manager Davey Martinez, Soroka played catch Wednesday in Toronto and reported afterward he still felt a twinge of discomfort in his upper arm.
“He said he just barely could feel it,” Martinez said. “But when a pitcher says he can barely feel it in his arm, I don’t like it. I think the best thing is to get it to calm down a little bit and get him ready to come back out again.”
Soroka will get an MRI on the muscle Saturday, which will help the Nats determine the severity of the strain. There is still cautious optimism he won’t need to miss significant time.
“I’d rather try to take care of it now,” Martinez said, “so it doesn’t become a bigger issue.”
The Nationals recalled Jackson Rutledge from Triple-A Rochester to take Soroka’s roster spot, giving them another bullpen arm in the short term. Rutledge, the club’s 2019 first-round pick, has been converted to a full-time relief role and had thrown three scoreless innings over two appearances this week for the Red Wings.
For Sunday’s start, the Nats appear interested in waiting to see if Lord (another starting prospect who is currently in the major league bullpen) is needed in relief of either Jake Irvin tonight or Mitchell Parker on Saturday. If he’s not needed, the rookie could then make his first career start Sunday, capable of throwing three or four innings, with Rutledge and others following him out of the bullpen.
If they don’t go with Lord, the Nationals could call up Shinnosuke Ogasawara, who tossed six innings of one-run ball for Rochester on Monday and would be on full rest for what would be his major league debut. They also could move Trevor Williams and MacKenzie Gore up in the rotation and still start both on normal rest (thanks to Thursday’s day off). That would delay the ultimate decision until Tuesday night, when they will need a fifth starter against the Dodgers.
“We’ll see how these first two games go,” Martinez said. “Hopefully, Irvin goes deep, Parker goes deep and then we can do something else. But for right now, we need those guys out of the bullpen.”