Arano goes on 15-day IL, Machado returns from Triple-A

NEW YORK – The Nationals made a roster move to their bullpen prior to today’s game against the Mets, recalling Andres Machado from Triple-A Rochester and placing Víctor Arano on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain that likely will end his season.

Arano last pitched Thursday against the Athletics and reported shoulder soreness afterward. An MRI revealed the shoulder strain, so the Nats decided not to wait any longer and placed him on the IL (retroactive to Sept. 2) now.

“We thought at this point, let’s just put him on the IL, try to get him healthy by the end of the year,” manager Davey Martinez said. “But he’s done well for us. We want to make sure he leaves this year healthy again so he can start his winter program.”

Martinez wouldn’t go quite so far as to declare Arano done for the season, but acknowledged he likely won’t have time to return to game action.

“He’s going to be shut down for a week or two, and then after that we’ll see if we can get him going, get him throwing,” the manager said. “The biggest thing is just to have him throw off the mound if he can before he leaves (for the offseason), so we know he’s OK.”

Arano has a 4.50 ERA and 1.405 WHIP in 43 appearances this season. The 27-year-old will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter and remains under club control through 2026 if the Nationals choose to retain him.

Machado, who has a 4.57 ERA and 1.431 WHIP in 38 big league games this season while bouncing back and forth between Washington and Rochester, won’t be arbitration-eligible until 2025 and won’t be a free agent until 2028.

Both are trying to insert themselves into the long-term plans for the Nationals, who have seen their bullpen develop into one of the club’s few strengths over the course of this season. Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr., Hunter Harvey and Mason Thompson all are set to return next year, with a few spots available for others.

“These guys have all pitched well,” Martinez said. “And the beautiful thing about this year is that we have depth, and we have depth going into next year. We’ve got some guys that are controllable. We’ve got some guys who have options. So we feel good about our bullpen status for next year.”

* Nelson Cruz is out of the lineup for the second straight day, still feeling the effects of a foul ball off his right knee during Friday night’s series opener. Luke Voit again is serving as DH in Cruz’s absence, with Joey Meneses moving from right field to first base.

Keibert Ruiz, meanwhile, is making a rare start behind the plate for a day game following a night game. Martinez intended to give his young catcher the day off, but Ruiz approached him after Saturday night’s game and was adamant he wanted to play.

“I loved it,” Martinez said. “You want to play? You deserve it. He said he’ll be ready to go today, so we’ll see how it works out. I’ve had Willson Contreras (in Chicago), who caught every day. I watched (Yadier) Molina catch every day, (Iván Rodríguez) catch every day. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt, see how he reacts today and we’ll go from there. But I did tell him: ‘You will get a day off here in the next couple days.’ But I love the fact that he wanted to play today.”

* The Nationals will go with a six-man rotation for at least the upcoming week. After Erick Fedde starts today’s series finale against the Mets, they’ll send Aníbal Sánchez, Paolo Espino, Cory Abbott and Josiah Gray to the mound in St. Louis. That pushes Patrick Corbin to Friday’s opener in Philadelphia.

With Abbott inserted into the rotation, Gray and Corbin each get an extra day of rest this week.