Washington Nationals News: Aaron Barrett reportedly visits Dr. Andrews

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Good afternoon DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily. Get caught up on the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.

We start off today’s Daily with an injury update on Nationals reliever Aaron Barrett, who has been on the disabled list since July 7. According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, Barrett recently saw Dr. James Andrews to check on his injured right elbow. Ladson cites two baseball sources in his report.

While the severity of Barrett’s injury is unclear at this point, the fact that he visited Dr. Andrews may not be a good sign for him or the Nationals.

As Ladson notes, Dr. Andrews is a prominent orthopedist who performs—among other things—Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgeries. Barrett is currently on the disabled list with a sprained right elbow and it’s unknown if he’ll need the surgery, but we should know more about his outlook in the coming days.

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Prior to landing on the disabled list, Barrett pitched in 40 games and had a 4.50 ERA. After struggling in the second half, he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Aug. 6 before being placed on the disabled list the following day.

Also in today’s Daily, Thomas Boswell of The Washington Post explains why the Nationals’ inconsistent starting rotation is one of the biggest culprits behind the team’s struggles in 2015.

Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.

Sources: Reliever Barrett visits Dr. Andrews

(Bill Ladson, MLB.com)

WASHINGTON — Nationals right-hander Aaron Barrett saw Dr. James Andrews recently to check on his right elbow, according to two baseball sources.

Andrews is a prominent orthopedist who performs Tommy John surgeries for players needing elbow reconstruction, but it’s not known if Barrett will need to go through the procedure. Read full article here.

What’s wrong with the Nationals? It’s the starting pitching, stupid.

(Thomas Boswell, Washington Post)

It’s the starting pitching, stupid. That’s the Washington Nationals’ biggest problem of 2015.

At first glance, this sounds unlikely, bordering on ridiculous. The Nats’ problem is massive injuries. Or the manager. Or the shaky bullpen bridge to the closer. Or all the errors. They don’t score enough runs. They don’t hold enough leads. Everybody knows it. The Nats sometimes think it themselves. But it’s not true.

A lot of us have been big dummies in spotting this overarching trend. The grand expensive overkill Nats rotation — the “strength that was strengthened,” according to the team when Max Scherzer was signed last winter — was supposed to be the strongest element of any team in the entire sport. Read full article here.

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