Nats place Herrera on DL with shoulder injury

August 8th, 2018

WASHINGTON -- A day after exited Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Braves, the Nationals placed the reliever on the 10-day disabled list with a right rotator cuff impingement. The club recalled right-hander from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday to take Herrera's place on the roster.
"[Herrera] didn't quite have the life that he had the last outing," catcher Matt Wieters said. "So, he called me up there and just said he wasn't feeling right. So, no reason to push it, and make sure we get it right before we get him back out there."
Pitching in the ninth inning of a tied game, Herrera yielded a pair of singles to Freddie Freeman and to put himself into a jam to start the inning. connected with a line drive, but third baseman snagged it for the first out. Then, Inciarte snuck his triple down the right-field line.

Manager Dave Martinez saw Herrera shake his right arm after the triple, prompting him to emerge from the dugout with head athletic trainer Paul Lessard. After a brief conversation, Herrera came out of the game.
"I couldn't finish my pitches," Herrera said through an interpreter, and he added it's the first time he has ever experienced this issue. "I felt like I was aiming them instead of throwing them."

Since joining the Nationals, Herrera has had his struggles. In 19 games, he has posted a 4.76 ERA -- way up from the 1.05 ERA he posted in Kansas City to start the season -- and has given up 23 hits and walked eight in 17 innings. But Martinez said this is the first time Herrera has complained of shoulder soreness.
The Nats cannot afford to lose Herrera for an extended period of time. is still recovering from the stress reaction in his left foot and has not been cleared to throw off a mound. The club just traded two valuable relievers in and . Although the Nats signed Greg Holland on Tuesday, he has been far from reliable this season.