After watching ace Stephen Strasburg leave Friday night's start with a strained right oblique — an ailment Strasburg later admitted has been nagging him over his past two starts and may have been furthered by attempting to pitch through it — the Washington Nationals may have decided to play it a little safer with all-star Bryce Harper.
According to Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider, the team now plans to place their 20-year-old outfielder on the 15-day DL so that he fully recover from the left knee bursitis he's been dealing with since crashing into the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium back on May 13.
In retrospect, it's a move the Nationals probably wish they had made right away to protect Harper from himself. He was clearly struggling through that ailment, not to mention the nasty ingrown toenail, but talked his way into the lineup just about everyday over the next two weeks. However, last Sunday Harper was given a day of rest and we've yet to see him since. That means if (and when) he's officially placed on the DL, it will be retroactive to May 26.
In the meantime, Washington is expected to call up right-handed pitcher Erik Davis to give their staff a little extra depth to offset Strasburg's absence. At this point, there's no word on how long that absence might be, but I think the Nationals would be wise to take the exact same approach. Place Strasburg on the DL. Protect him from himself. Make good and sure he's healthy and ready for the stretch run.
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