Ryan Mattheus placed on 15 day DL

Due to a strain in his throwing shoulder relief pitcher Ryan Mattheus was placed on the 15 day DL Friday. With the Washington Nationals pretty much out of playoff contention at this point it would come of no surprise if they decided to shut him down for the season.

Mattheus who is in just his first major league season has become one of the Nats better pitchers out of the bullpen this season often drawing praise from media members as well as his coaches. In 32 appearances for the Nationals this season he has posted a 2.40 era and has made 27 appearances this season without giving up a single earned run.

Taking Mattheus spot on the roster will be Syracuse Chiefs first baseman Chris Marrero.  Marrero a first round draft pick in 2006 entered the season ranked as the 7th best Nationals prospect according to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. Marrero has always been thought highly of for his bat has hit for 14 home runs and is batting .300 with .375 on base percentage over 127 games this season all at the Triple A level. Most importantly for Marrero though is the fact that he has worked hard at making strides with his glove defensively and is starting to get rid of some of the concern around what was considered poor defensive play. Now I know that some people who are not too familiar with Marrero see that he was drafted in 2006 and think that he must be an older prospect which is definitely not the case because still at the age of only 23 years old he should continue to get better.

Personally I am glad to see Marrero get the call up because I’ve been waiting to see Marrero get some major league at bats for quiite some time now. Plus with all the talk of Morse moving back to the outfield full time next year because of LaRoche being back it will be good to see if Marrero is a potential long term solution at first base.