Lost in the aftermath of Tuesday night's bench-clearing brawl at Fenway and suspensions to Cade Cavalli and Miles Mikolas, the Nationals had an injury to deal with.
Left-handed reliever Mitchell Parker was officially moved to the 60-day injured list Wednesday with a grade 3 UCL sprain. He was removed in the 7th inning of last Sunday's matchup with the Orioles after throwing 29 pitches.
Mitchell Parker likely headed for Tommy John Surgery after diagnosis
According to MLB.com's Jessica Camerato, Parker will "seek a second opinion" and he, alongside the Nationals have already been discussing the next steps forward. Typical recovery time for Tommy John surgery is 12 to 18 months for competitive pitchers - it's a long road of recovery, and Parker is being thorough in making a decision.
In 22 appearances for the Nationals this year, Parker has struggled - posting a 6.58 ERA, giving up 46 hits and 9 home runs in 39.2 innings of work. Parker alone has blown 5 saves, and has struggled mightily in keeping leads during his relief appearances.
In a seemingly related move, the Nationals acquired RHP Kyle Nicolas from the Orioles to try and find a stable arm for the bullpen. Nicolas was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Washington's bullpen situation remains rocky - Blake Butera and Paul Toboni will have some decisions to make, both now and before the deadline, to try and stabilize a cohort of relievers that finds themselves among the league's worst.
After initially breaking into the big leagues as a starting pitcher, it looked like Parker was destined for a long-term fit in the back or middle of the team's rotation. Parker became the first Nationals starting pitcher to record a win in his big league debut, and turned in a solid rookie season. Since then, however, Parker's struggles have slated him to a full relief role, where he has battled inconsistencies.
He has had moments where he has looked like a very viable long-term reliever for the Nationals, but he also has had a lot of moments where he struggled mightily and looked like one of the most hittable relievers in the team's bullpen. Either way, the likelihood and diagnosis of Tommy John Surgery is a brutal thing to hear no matter who it is, and now Parker is likely not going be back on a mound until late 2027 at the earliest, but more likely 2028.
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