No more starts for Joe Ross, Nats transition rookie to bullpen

The theme of Tuesday night at Nationals Park seems revolve around innings limits. Drama has surrounded tonight's Mets starter Matt Harvey - who is pitching in his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2013 - after his super-agent Scott Boras indicated that a shutdown was necessary and nearing for the fireballer.

Meanwhile, speculation has swirled around the Nationals for the past month as to whether right-hander Joe Ross is approaching the end of his rookie run due to increasing innings.

The Nationals came to a conclusion on Ross, but the 22-year-old will not be completely shut down.

"We put Joe in the bullpen, so he will now be out of our bullpen," Nationals manager Matt Williams revealed before tonight's game. "We can manage innings a little bit for Joe out of the 'pen. He pitched really well. He's at a point now that he's never been to. Little bit fatigued in that regard, so to ask him to go out every fifth day and pitch six innings would be unfair to him. But he's able to pitch out of the bullpen. Come in for an inning where needed and continue to pitch that way and experience it. He's been really good for us."

Prior to this year, Ross had maxed out at 122 1/3 innings when he pitched for Single-A Fort Wayne in the Padres organization in 2013. Last season, Ross threw 121 2/3 frames in the minors.

Over 14 starts combined at Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse, along with 13 starts for the Nationals, Ross has combined to hurl 149 2/3 innings this year.

"We look at past performance and the type of workload he's had in the past," general manager Mike Rizzo explained. "When we looked at Joe, we had a number in mind going into the season. We have a protocol that we use for our pitchers. With the escalation that he's had, starting in Double-A and getting here to pitch meaningful innings for us, we felt that it was time to get flipped to the bullpen, to get him through the last month of the season, which he's never been through before, and give him a taste of what it's like to play through a full major league season."

Ross displayed stellar command and control through his first 11 start of his career, walking just 11 while striking out 65 over 66 2/3 innings. In fact, after making his major league debut on June 6, Ross didn't end up issuing a walk until the eighth inning of his second start in Milwaukee, setting a new team record for most batters faced (54) without giving up a free pass to begin a career.

But in his last two starts, the command has escaped Ross. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings after walking six in an 8-5 loss in St. Louis last Tuesday and then on Sunday, issued three more free passes and four runs in only 4 1/3 innings in an 8-4 win over the Braves.

"The eyes tell what's going on with him," Williams said. "Talking him with him certainty tells you another thing, what he feels. So, the last start anyway, he was feeling pretty fatigued. I think it was evident by what we saw. So, that being said, we can limit that at this point and still continue have him be effective for us, albeit not from a starting position. We talked about all of those things, and it's important for him to continue to pitch when he can and when needed. And we just won't put that huge load on him anymore."

Williams anticipates utilizing Ross mostly in one-inning situations out of the bullpen throughout the remainder of the season.

"We're not going to bring him in in a situation where he's got guys on first and second," Williams said. "He's never done that. That would be unfair to him. So a clean inning here or there, maybe two depending on how long it's been since he pitched or what the position of the game is. He can certainly manage that. We'll certainly give him plenty of time to get ready to go."

Rizzo acquired Ross, a Padres 2012 first-rounder, from San Diego last December in a three-way trade, which also netted recently called-up prospect Trea Turner. In his first season in the big leagues, Ross went 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA in 13 starts. Among his highlights was a two-game stretch in mid-June when he beat the Brewers and Pirates, allowing just three runs while striking out 19 and walking only two over 15 1/3 innings.

"Joe had an incredible season," Rizzo said. "For a guy that just turned 22 (on May 21), he showed the poise and the stuff of a seasoned pro. We really liked him coming into the season. As you can see, he has exceeded everybody's expectation on his developmental curve and the time it took him to get to the big leagues and how he performed in the big leagues. We couldn't be happier for Joe."

With free agents Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister expected to leave after the season, Ross will most likely begin 2016 in the Nationals starting rotation.

Despite going 15-10 with a 2.85 ERA in 31 starts in 2014, Tanner Roark became the odd-man out in the Nats rotation when the team inked ace Max Scherzer. Pitching mostly out of the bullpen this year, Roark has made seven starts, compiling a 3-1 record with a 5.21 ERA. His next trip to the mound will come in a start against the Marlins in Miami this weekend.

"He should be good to 90-95 (pitches)," Williams said. "He's been there before this season. He's worked through the starter's process. That being said, for him to go 90-95 shouldn't be an issue."