The Nationals are calling up right-handed pitching prospect Cole Henry, according to Joe Will of 247Sports. Henry will take the roster spot of fellow righty Orlando Ribalta, as the Nats announced that Ribalta has been placed (retroactive to April 10) on the 15-day injured list due to a right biceps strain.
After posting a 13.50 ERA over his first 3 1/3 MLB innings in 2024, Ribalta has a 5.87 ERA in 7 2/3 frames out of Washington’s bullpen this year. Most of the damage came in his first outing of 2025, when the Phillies tagged Ribalta for four runs over two innings of work. He last pitched on Tuesday, when Ribalta allowed a run over three innings and 58 pitches in a relief outing against the Dodgers.
More will be revealed about the severity of Ribalta’s biceps strain once manager Davey Martinez meets with reporters later today, but even in the best-case scenario, it would seem like the righty will be out for more than the 15-day minimum. With Ribalta now sidelined, the Nationals have turned to the 25-year-old Henry as a fresh arm for the bullpen, and given Henry his first look at the MLB level.
A second-round pick for the Nats in the 2020 draft, Henry has logged only 130 1/3 innings over five pro seasons due to a variety of injuries. Most recently, a lat strain limited him to 16 1/3 total innings with high-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg in 2024. While Henry has started 34 of his 44 games in the minors, he transitioned into relief work this past spring, with an eye towards joining the Nationals bullpen as a long man.
Henry only threw two innings over two Triple-A appearances before his call-up, allowing a hit and three walks over those two scoreless frames. While not the biggest sample size in the world, the Nats will now see if Henry can eat some innings and translate his strong strikeout numbers (30.34% strikeout rate in the minors) to success in the Show.
Fourth story in a row about a player going on the IL. Any volunteers for conditioning coaches?
Nope, just massage therapists.
It’s not conditioning, it’s the demands put on players’ bodies that are reaching the limit of what they can endure.
Nationals pen is a complete mess but are actually pitching better than their ERA shows, with a 4.47 SIERA. This might help out a bit, given Henry’s 30% K-rate in the minors but not the command-driven stabilizer they truly need.
Hope he’s an improvement over poche and Sims. Maybe Cavalli and law come back soon.