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Josiah Gray Headed For Further Testing With Elbow Discomfort

By Anthony Franco | July 2, 2024 at 4:22pm CDT

The Nationals are dealing with a worrisome situation regarding one of their top pitchers. Josiah Gray told reporters that he came out of his most recent rehab start with elbow discomfort and fatigue (X link via Andrew Golden of the Washington Post). He’ll head for additional testing. Manager Dave Martinez indicated they’ll hold off on that imaging until around the All-Star Break (relayed on X by The Post’s Spencer Nusbaum).

Gray has been on the injured list since the second week of the season. He went on the shelf on April 9 with what the team called a forearm strain. The right-hander has missed nearly three months but appeared to be nearing a return. He’d begun a rehab assignment on June 9 and has made five starts in the minors in recent weeks. Gray was likely ticketed for one final rehab outing next weekend before rejoining the MLB rotation.

Those plans are on hold as the Nats hope for encouraging test results. Even if testing doesn’t reveal any kind of structural damage, the club will assuredly be very cautious in building Gray’s throwing program back up. Gray likened the discomfort to the soreness he initially felt in April, raising the possibility of another extended absence.

This clearly hasn’t been the desired follow-up to the righty’s first All-Star season. Gray turned in a 3.91 earned run average while logging 159 innings (second on the team behind Patrick Corbin’s 180 frames) a year ago. While Gray’s production tailed off down the stretch, it was a generally encouraging season for the former top prospect.

The Nats have patched together a reasonably productive rotation despite absences to both Gray and Trevor Williams, who hasn’t pitched in over a month because of a muscle strain in his forearm. Washington ranks 12th with a 3.90 ERA from its starters. They’re in the bottom third of the league with a 21.3% strikeout rate but have generally shown decent control and done a solid job keeping the ball on the ground.

MacKenzie Gore has turned in a 3.47 ERA with a strong 27.2% strikeout rate in the best season of his young career. Jake Irvin and rookie Mitchell Parker have each managed an earned run average in the low-3.00s despite middling strikeout numbers. Parker, in particular, has shown surprisingly strong control after struggling with walks throughout his minor league days. DJ Herz, who stepped into the rotation since Williams went down, has been inconsistent but has flashed bat-missing ability through his first five MLB starts.

Corbin is on his way to his fourth consecutive season allowing more than five earned runs per nine. The veteran southpaw was better in June than he’d been through the first couple months, though he still posted a 4.71 ERA in 28 2/3 innings. His rotation spot might have been in jeopardy if Gray were healthy, but he figures to get a longer leash after the latter’s setback.

The Nationals have dropped seven of their last 10 and fallen towards the back of the group of mid-level teams in the National League. They’re 39-45, tied with the Reds and narrowly ahead of the Cubs but behind five teams for the NL’s last Wild Card spot.

While it doesn’t seem they’ll put themselves in position to acquire impactful rotation help at the deadline, they’ll at least have the opportunity to play their way into buying. They’re amidst a three-game series with the Mets. After that, they’ll take on the Cardinals, Mets, Brewers, Reds, Padres and St. Louis again before kicking off a set with the D-Backs heading into the deadline. Apart from Milwaukee, all those teams are jumbled in the Wild Card mix.

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Washington Nationals Josiah Gray

Checking In On 2024’s Reliever-To-Rotation Experiments: July Edition
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View Comments (9)
Post a Comment

9 Comments

  1. sad tormented neglected mariners fan

    1 year ago

    Sad that he’s gonna have to pay a visit to Dr. ElAttrache or Dr. Meister

    See ya in 2026 hopefully you throw harder after this

    Reply
    • Prospectnvstr

      1 year ago

      I hope he’s able to learn how to PITCH BETTER. THROWING HARDER is what gets most (not all) of these PITCHERS injured in the 1st place.

      2
      Reply
      • sad tormented neglected mariners fan

        1 year ago

        I was just making a reference to the only benefit that some people experience after Tommy John

        I’m gonna be captain obvious here but this injury will probably make him to be a worse pitcher than before

        Reply
    • braveshomer

      1 year ago

      Whatever happened to Dr. James Andrews?…he was the original “Dr. Death” when it came to TJ surgery visits and opinions. Must’ve retired

      Reply
      • retire21

        1 year ago

        Dr. Frank Jobe performed the original on, wait for it…Tommy John.

        Reply
  2. yeasties

    1 year ago

    sad trombone

    Reply
  3. Niekro floater

    1 year ago

    Reason u get 2nd opinion is cause 1st Dr said it’s fu#ked up n u need surgery. 2nd opinion is never good thing.

    Reply
  4. The Saber-toothed Superfife

    1 year ago

    They can get any pitcher they want with Woods and Crews….they could even dump the Corbin contract….
    If only they were a little closer…..

    Reply
  5. GooseGoslinGuy

    1 year ago

    Gray is a disappointment. And Keibert Ruiz, who came over with him in the trade for Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers in 2021, is heading that way as well. Gray really wasn’t worthy of an All-Star spot last year but someone on the Nats had to get one. He had some sharp outings in ’23, but he always looked lacking in stamina IMHO, and this year looked bad… and now he’s injured. Sad.

    Reply

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