The Nationals announced a series of roster moves to set up their Opening Day roster, including four injured-list placements retroactive to March 24. Right-handers Derek Law (forearm inflammation) and Zach Brzykcy (right quad strain) are both headed to the 15-day IL, infielder Andres Chaparro (oblique strain) is going to the 10-day IL, and right-hander Cade Cavalli was placed on the 15-day IL as he enters the final stages of his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
DJ Herz was moved from the 15-day to the 60-day IL as he could be facing a Tommy John procedure of his own in the wake of a UCL tear. Herz’s transfer opens up a 40-man roster spot the Nats to select the contract of right-hander Brad Lord, in a move that was reported earlier today. Finally, D.C. also optioned first/baseman outfielder Juan Yepez and righty Jackson Rutledge to Triple-A, and catcher Andrew Knizner was reassigned to Triple-A.
As Spencer Nusbaum of the Washington Post wrote last weekend, Law’s injury dates back to last season, when the reliever missed just under three weeks in late August and early September due to a flexor strain in his throwing elbow. Though Law was able to return in relatively short order, the discomfort lingered through the winter and into Spring Training, and Law pitched in only one game during the Nationals’ Grapefruit League schedule. The team had already planned to limit Law’s spring workload in the wake of his 90-inning campaign last season, but the forearm issue kept him off the mound almost entirely.
Manager Davey Martinez said Law’s MRI came back clean and the injury isn’t thought to be too serious, with Law saying he believes he’ll be back when first eligible for activation on April 8. Law was one of the game’s most valuable workhorses last season, tossing 90 innings of 2.60 ball over 75 appearances for the Nationals.
Brzykcy also pitched just once this spring, as his quad strain has kept him out of game action for over a month. The righty has started throwing bullpens again, so he is at least partway through the ramp-up process even if it seems like Brzykcy could miss more than the 15-day minimum given how little he pitched in the spring.
Brzykcy was an undrafted free agent from the 2020 class (the year the draft was shortened to five rounds due to the pandemic) who signed with the Nats that summer. He made his MLB debut last season, and was hit hard to the tune of a 14.29 ERA over the small sample size of 5 2/3 innings and six appearances. Brzykcy didn’t pitch in 2023 due to a Tommy John surgery, but his overall impressive minor league numbers made him a candidate to win a job in the Nationals’ bullpen this winter before his quad strain ended his bid.
Chaparro is another player who made his big-league debut in 2024, and he hit .215/.280/.413 with four home runs in his first 132 plate appearances in the Show. While the presence of the newly-acquired Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Bell may have hurt Chaparro’s chances of winning a bench job as a backup first baseman and outfielder, he was posting big numbers in camp before hurting his oblique during a batting practice session. The uncertain nature of oblique injuries leaves Chaparro’s recovery timeline somewhat up in the air, but a best-case scenario would probably see him activated by mid-April.
Without Chaparro, Yepez, or Knizner, Washington’s bench now consists of Riley Adams in the backup catcher role, veteran Amed Rosario, Jose Tena as the primary backup infielder, and Alex Call as the fourth outfielder. Between Law’s injury and the Nationals’ decision to option Rutledge, the Nationals went with Lord and rookie Orlando Ribalta for the last two bullpen spots.
Note: The initial version of this post erroneously stated that Cavalli was placed on the 60-day injured list. MLBTR apologizes for the error.
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