Coming off a roller coaster of two games that took place on Friday and Saturday, the Washington Nationals are looking to win their series over the Athletics with a victory in the finale on Sunday.
But prior to first pitch, the team announced some roster moves that featured yet another injury to their pitching staff. Not only was left-handed pitcher PJ Poulin placed on the 15-day injured list with a left flexor strain, but left-handed pitcher Richard Lovelady was moved to the 60-day IL due to his left triceps strain . As part of those moves, the Nationals re-signed left-hander Matt Krook to a major league contract, and they activated him ahead of Sunday's game.
Washington Nationals pitcher Matt Krook | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Krook, who recently departed the organization after he opted to become a free agent instead of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Rochester after he was designated for assignment and cleared waivers, is now poised to have a much larger role in Washington based on this injury update.
With Lovelady now expected to miss a significant amount of time following his transfer to the 60-day injured list, and with Poulin getting diagnosed with a concerning injury of his own, Krook now has the chance to be a featured part of this bullpen.
That might scare some people based on the 14.11 career ERA he has across 16 MLB appearances. However, outside of the disastrous blowup Krook had against the New York Yankees when manager Blake Butera inserted him into a save situation, the lefty has thrown 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the Nationals with just one hit allowed and two strikeouts to two walks.
Washington needs much more of that going forward, especially now that injuries are starting to pile up for this relief staff that already was one of the worst in the majors at full strength.
Washington Nationals pitcher PJ Poulin | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
This was not a good diagnosis when it comes to Poulin, as flexor strains have historically been a precursor to injuries that ultimately can lead to Tommy John surgeries or the new internal brace procedures.
The last time Poulin appeared in a game for the Nationals was on July 11 against the Yankees, so the fact that he was still dealing with something over the All-Star break that prevented him from appearing in the first two games of Washington's set against the Athletics is not a positive sign.
Hopefully some rest will prevent a long-term injury for Poulin when it comes to dealing with this flexor strain. But that also means the Nationals are likely to be without one of their most versatile and effective relievers for a while during the second half of the season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/nationals/onsi as Nationals Reveal Tough Injury News About PJ Poulin as They Re-Sign Matt Krook .
