Harris, Robles both land on IL before series finale (updated)

The Nationals have placed both Will Harris and Victor Robles on the 10-day injured list, the struggling reliever still unable to get over the mysterious right hand ailment that has plagued him since spring training and the young outfielder still not ready to return from a right ankle sprain he suffered four days ago.

Kyle McGowin was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Harris' spot and provide manager Davey Martinez with a fresh arm out of the bullpen for today's series finale against the Orioles. The Nationals did not immediately replace Robles, with no other outfielders already on the organization's 40-man roster and thus available for promotion without a corresponding transaction.

Harris was hoping the hand issues would be behind him when he made his delayed season debut May 4, but he has since seen his appearances fluctuate between effective and ineffective each time he's taken the mound. He didn't give up a hit in his first outing, then surrendered a run the next time out, and that on-and-off pattern has continued through his entire eight-game season to date.

Things came to a head Saturday when Harris was entrusted with a five-run lead in the top of the eighth but couldn't retire any of the three Baltimore batters he faced, forcing Martinez to summon Daniel Hudson from the bullpen to put out the fire in what wound up a 12-9 victory.

Harris' hand has been swelling up after some games, according to Martinez, but it usually dissipates within a few hours.

"Look, this guy has been through a lot, and I appreciate everything he's done and he's trying to do," the manager said during this morning's Zoom session with reporters, before the roster move was announced. "I just try to pick him up as best as I can and tell him to keep his head up. At the end of the day, he's going to help us win a lot of games. It's something we'll get through. It stinks that he has to go through it, but we're going to help him get through it and help him get back to where he was (prior) to this injury."

Harris first experienced the hand swelling during spring training. A doctor in West Palm Beach, Fla., initially diagnosed him with a blood clot in his throwing arm, and Harris traveled to St. Louis to undergo a procedure from a specialist who believed it was possible he had the more serious thoracic outlet syndrome.

That specialist, though, did not find any evidence of a clot or thoracic outlet syndrome, and cleared Harris to rejoin the team. He spent April at the alternate training site in Fredericksburg building his arm back up before he was activated off the IL.

Martinez actually was hopeful earlier in the day Robles would be ready to return from the ankle sprain he suffered Wednesday in Chicago, figuring the Nationals could take advantage of Monday's day off to try to get the 24-year-old center fielder ready for Tuesday's opener against the Reds. But apparently Robles hadn't shown enough improvement to warrant waiting any longer, so the club placed him on the 10-day IL shortly before today's game.

By making the move now, the Nats were able to backdate the transaction three days. That means Robles will be eligible to return as soon as May 30.

For now, they're playing with a 25-man roster instead of 26, but they may have to find a way to add another bench player to the mix soon. Though there are no other outfielders on the 40-man roster, they do have veteran Gerardo Parra at Triple-A Rochester and could clear a spot for him to join the bench. They also could promote an infielder already on the 40-man roster (Luis García or Carter Kieboom).