WASHINGTON — When you’re having as good a season as the Nationals are, it can seem like pointing out any little deficiency is an act of being overly critical. Yes, the Nats are in great shape, owning an 8.5-game division lead, second only to the runaway Chicago Cubs of any margin over a second-place team. They are balanced, ranking in the top five in most offensive and pitching categories, and do not appear to be a paper tiger.
But suddenly, after placing Sammy Solis on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation Wednesday, they find themselves rather short on left-handed relief pitching as they chug down the stretch run of the season.
Shoulder inflammation isn’t the worst reason for a pitcher to land on the DL, but it’s the nonspecific type of injury that can be a harbinger of something more serious. Solis reportedly had to fly home to Washington for an MRI, so we won’t know the full extent of the damage or prognosis until the results come back. Regardless of the timeline, Solis will be sorely missed after emerging as an unexpected bright spot, pitching to a 181 ERA+ with better than a strikeout an inning and only one home run allowed all season.
A month ago, the team was well-stocked with southpaws, carrying Oliver Perez and Felipe Rivero in addition to Solis. But Rivero was packaged in the deal that landed Mark Melancon from Pittsburgh, where he has since struck out 16 without allowing an earned run in 8.2 innings for the Pirates.
Perez, meanwhile, has not backed up his solid start to the season, pitching to a 7.45 ERA in 31 appearances since the beginning of June. And right-handers were slashing a healthy .283/.394/.433 against him for the year before Wednesday’s poor performance, rendering Perez something of a lefty specialist in a bullpen now devoid of other options.
There doesn’t appear to be an immediate solution waiting at Triple-A Syracuse, although there are some potential options the club could examine before Sept. 1, before which they would need them on the active roster in order to be eligible for the postseason.
Matt Grace has done a good job limiting damage, walking just six and yielding just two homers in 45 innings. But he also has just 30 strikeouts, hardly the type of dominant stuff Rivero or Solis provided. Bryan Harper, Bryce’s older brother, was having a solid campaign, earning a promotion to Triple-A, but was placed on the 7-day disabled list last Wednesday with a forearm issue. The only lefty at Double-A Harrisburg is 25-year-old Nick Lee, who has a good strikeout rate but a ghastly walk rate, leading to a 1.76 WHIP in 43.2 innings.
The Nats can largely survive this deficiency for the remainder of the regular season without much worry, but the playoffs may be a different story. Accounting for matchups is vital, especially when considering who is going to face Anthony Rizzo (.315/.412/.595 vs. RHP) and Corey Seager (.324/.377/.553), or even Brandon Moss (20 HR vs. RHP) or Joc Pederson (17). The Cardinals (. 794), Cubs (. 761) and Dodgers (. 754) rank second, third, and fourth in the NL in OPS against right-handed pitching, respectively.
Until we know more about Solis, the Nats are left with no reliable left-handed options. It would behoove them to try out their options now, so they have the personnel they’ll need in October.
