Steve Mears: Looking at Nats' other options for replacement starter

The Nationals got all the way to June 20 before they needed a sixth starter, as Stephen Strasburg was scratched from his start with an upper back strain and replaced by Yusmeiro Petit. The Nats were fortunate earlier in the season when Joe Ross had a blister and with days off they could skip his start. Not so lucky this time, and that begs the question as to who would be the Nats' replacement starter if they needed one again?

Taylor Jordan is out for the season, and A.J. Cole is really the only viable starter on the 40-man roster unless they decide to use Blake Treinen or Petit again. Then you get into the more interesting options like Austin Voth and Lucas Giolito as possible call-ups.

The other option would have been Bronson Arroyo, but he is not ready to pitch. The Nats also have an issue with Gio Gonzalez, who has been hit hard his last six starts all ending in Nats losses.

Should general manager Mike Rizzo look for another starter in a trade or is there enough talent available in the organization? These are all questions to ponder, and perhaps you make a move to improve the rotation overall with depth and make a move to replace the weakest link in the rotation.

Another situation is that Ross could "hit the wall" again in August and be done early or moved to the bullpen. He does not appear to have an innings limit; however, he will need to be watched. That gives Dusty Baker probably three pitchers he can count on in September and beyond in Strasburg, Max Scherzer and Tanner Roark, while we will have to see if Gonzalez can get back on track.

While we wait and see how Strasburg is physically, we can ponder a number of different options.

Steve Mears blogs about the Nationals for Talk Nats. Follow the blog on Twitter: @TalkNats2. His thoughts on the Nationals will appear here as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our site. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.