Washington Nationals: Joe Ross to undergo Tommy John surgery

On Saturday, it was announced that Washington Nationals starting pitcher Joe Ross will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on Wednesday.

Just when you thought the Washington Nationals‘ injury luck couldn’t get any worse, they suffered yet another crushing blow. Joe Ross‘ elbow injury turned out to be a full thickness tear of his UCL, which requires season-ending Tommy John surgery.

The news, although extremely unfortunate, is not stunning. Ross’ velocity was significantly lower during his last start on Sunday and the Nationals seemed to think the injury was serious before getting the MRI results back.

Ross will now join Adam Eaton on the 60-day disabled list, but Trea Turner, Jayson Werth, Michael Taylor, Koda Glover, and Shawn Kelley are all also on the DL. The Nats are quickly turning into the walking wounded.

It’s always upsetting when someone suffers a severe injury, but the timing of this injury makes it even more unfortunate. Ross has struggled at times this season, but was finally pitching better. Over the last calendar month, Ross started five games and never allowed more than three earned runs. He had finally begun to pitch to his capabilities, but will now miss a significant amount of time.

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With Ross done for the year, Tanner Roark becomes even more important. After being one of the most consistent pitchers in the league over the last few seasons, he struggled mightily throughout the first half. With Ross injured, Roark must figure things out and improve in the second half.

For now, the Nats will go with in-house options to fill Ross’ spot. They have not yet announced who will take his start on Tuesday, but it appears Edwin Jackson will most likely be the guy. Jackson, who was released by the Orioles earlier this year, has pitched well in AAA Syracuse and has earned a shot in the bigs.

If Jackson struggles, Erick Fedde is also an option. He is still stretching his arm back out from his stint in the bullpen, but should be stretched out within his next few starts. Although he has never appeared in the majors, he impressed during his first major league Spring Training and has pitched well for the most part in the minors this year.

If Roark, Jackson, or Fedde struggle, the Nats may elect to trade for a starter. One option that makes sense is Scott Feldman, who may be the perfect trade candidate for the Nats. First of all, he is only owed about $1.15 million for the rest of the year. Second, his contract expires after this season, so the Nats wouldn’t have to make a long-term commitment if they’re counting on Roark to rebound next year and Fedde possibly joining the rotation.

Feldman is also currently pitching for the Reds, who aren’t a contender, so they should be willing to trade him. Finally, he has quite a bit of postseason experience. In nine games, he has pitched to a 3.29 ERA. That could be extremely beneficial for a team looking to win their first ever playoff series.

Although Feldman isn’t spectacular, he is extremely reliable. His ERA has been below 4.00 every season since 2012. If the Nats are able to acquire him, he would definitely be a nice fit in the back-end of the rotation.

Ross will undoubtedly miss the remainder of this season and at least most of next season, but he may be a different pitcher when he returns. His primary pitch, a slider, is exceptionally stressful on the elbow.

While Ross will most likely still be able to throw his slider after Tommy John surgery, he may have to toggle back his usage a bit. Fortunately, he still has a fastball, sinker, and change-up that he can use to complement his slider. He will be in a situation similar to Shawn Kelley, who has also undergone Tommy John surgery and relies primarily on a slider.

Next: Why the Nats should put Edwin Jackson in the rotation

The fact that Ross must undergo Tommy John surgery is extremely unfortunate and the Nats will miss him, but nobody is going to feel bad for them. They have several in-house candidates to enter the rotation, as well as a few trade options. Whoever ends up taking the rotation spot must perform, as they may be an integral part of the Nats postseason plan; pitching and defense win games in the playoffs.