ATLANTA -- The Nationals placed reliever Sammy Solis on the disabled list with left elbow inflammation. The move clears a spot on the roster for right-hander Joe Ross, their starting pitcher on Wednesday night against the Braves.
Solis threw a scoreless inning in Tuesday's 3-1 victory over the Braves, in what was his sixth outing of the season but first in six days. His fastball velocity has averaged 93.7 mph in 2017, per Statcast™, which is his typical speed, but Solis has struggled to an 8.31 ERA in 4 1/3 frames.
"Yeah, his velocity was good," manager Dusty Baker said. "I just told [pitching coach] Mike [Maddux], I saw a difference in the rotation on his breaking ball."
The Nationals' bullpen has struggled as a whole this season. Washington's relievers entered Wednesday with a 6.16 ERA, the third-worst mark in the Majors. It prompted the club to make a switch at closer, as Shawn Kelley and Koda Glover will split closer duties while Blake Treinen pitches in more low-leverage situations.
Despite his struggles, Solis has been the team's most reliable left-hander this season, and he has warmed up often this year even when he has not appeared in the game. Baker hoped Solis would feel better sometime next week and would be ready to return from the DL after 10 days.
The Nats still have Oliver Perez and Enny Romero as left-handed options in the bullpen. Perez has not pitched since April 8, but Baker denied he was dealing with any issues.
"It's just the situation hasn't been right, but it's going to be right real soon," Baker said before alluding to his club's upcoming weekend series with the Mets. "You've got [Michael] Conforto and you've got [Jay] Bruce and you've got a couple switch-hitters over there. And they've got some left-handers over there that we're going to depend on [Perez] to get out."
Worth noting
• Trea Turner appeared at extended spring training in West Palm Beach on Wednesday to test out his strained right hamstring. He played shortstop and even stole a base.
"I had urged him not to try to steal, but when running's in your blood, it's in your blood," Baker said.
If all goes well, Turner could rejoin the team sometime this weekend in New York.