Washington Nationals SP Taylor Jordan placed on DL
By Brad Rowland
It is the time of year where “mysterious” injuries pop up to avoid roster issues, and in a not-so-coincidental turn of events, the Washington Nationals have placed rookie starting pitcher Taylor Jordan on the 15-day disabled list.
Jordan’s reported injury was a right lower back strain, but the timing seems a bit too perfect in this case. After all, the 24-year-old is coming off of the best start of his young career where he threw 6 innings of shutout ball on Friday against the red-hot Braves. Jordan showed no signs of injury during the start, but the smoking gun in this case is the not-so-quiet rumblings of an innings limit on the rookie this year.
Jordan has thrown just over 140 innings this season, and with Washington scratching and clawing just to compete for a Wild Card spot, it would make sense to shut him down for a free roster spot while saving an option on the rookie. The Nationals summoned 1B/OF before Saturday’s game with the Braves, and Moore actually started at 1st for Washington.
It remains to be seen whether Jordan has a high ceiling as an MLB starter, but it is clear that he is capable of having some success at this level. He has a 3.66 ERA in 9 starts with the big league club, and his 1.92 BB/9 walk rate would put him in the elite range over a full season. Jordan will be eligible to return in 15 days, and at that point, the extent of his injury will be fairly obvious.