Rainey goes on 60-day IL with UCL sprain, Clippard returns

The Nationals placed Tanner Rainey on the 60-day injured list with a sprained elbow ligament between games of today’s doubleheader against the Mariners, suggesting the team’s erratic closer is out for the remainder of the season and potentially part of the 2023 campaign as well.

Veteran reliever Tyler Clippard, who has spent the last 3 1/2 months pitching for Triple-A Rochester, had his contract purchased and will be in the Nats bullpen tonight for the first time since 2014. But Clippard’s long-awaited return, while sure to please fans, comes as the corresponding move to a major injury to a key member of the roster.

The transactions were announced after reporters had already conducted interviews in the clubhouse following today’s 6-4 loss to the Mariners, so the full severity of Rainey’s injury isn’t yet known. But the decision to immediately place the 29-year-old right-hander on the 60-day IL – typically, pitchers go on the 15-day IL first before getting transferred later to clear a spot on the 40-man roster – suggests the team already knows Rainey faces a long recovery, potentially Tommy John surgery.

That decision hasn't been made yet. Rainey is scheduled to get a second opinion on his elbow, according to a club source, though ligament replacement surgery is a possible outcome.

It had been an up-and-down season for Rainey. He was unscored upon in his first eight appearances, then blew back-to-back save opportunities in May, then another in June. He converted four straight save opportunities in late June but then gave up game-changing homers on back-to-back days to the Marlins during the Nationals’ last homestand.

Rainey hasn’t pitched since tossing two scoreless innings during Sunday’s extra-inning loss in Atlanta. Over 29 total appearances, he has a 3.30 ERA, 1.300 WHIP and 12 saves in 16 opportunities.

At bare minimum, Rainey will be out until mid-September. At worst, he’ll miss not only the remainder of this season but the first half of next season as well should be require surgery.

Clippard’s return does give the Nationals another experienced late-inning arm to join the likes of Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr. and Steve Cishek. The 37-year-old, who pitched in a club record 414 games from 2009-14, rejoined the organization late in spring training on a minor league deal and hoped to join the big league bullpen within a matter of weeks.

Clippard, though, struggled early on at Rochester. And though he rebounded and wound up with a 2.48 ERA and 1.211 WHIP in 33 appearances, he found himself stuck at Triple-A to this point as the Nats promoted other relievers when openings arose.

Now the popular right-hander will get his opportunity to pitch in D.C. again and help stabilize a bullpen that has a sudden need for help.