3 Washington Nationals players who won’t be back next season
2. SP Joe Ross
Thus far Ross has avoided a second Tommy John surgery, as he will not require surgery to fix a partial tear of the UCL in his throwing elbow that has shut him down for the rest of the season. That the evaluation came from the doctor who performed his Tommy John surgery in 2017 comes off as meaningful.
#Nationals Joe Ross is shut down for the year but he won't need surgery for the partial tear of his UCL. The injury was determined to be treatable as a sprain. Ross will undergo extensive rehab and get time off so he can be ready to go by spring training, Dave Martinez said.
— Maria Torres (@maria_torres3) August 17, 2021
But partial ulnar collateral ligament tears can easily become full tears, and Ross would not pitch until late next season at best if he had to have Tommy John again. After opting out of last season, he pitched to a 4.17 ERA with solid peripherals (9.1 K/9, 2.8 BB/9) over 20 appearances (19 starts) before his arm issue. He’s also arbitration eligible one more time this offseason.
The Nationals could simply not tender Ross a contract offer for 2022, and let him go free of their control if there are any questions about the health of his elbow. Even if his elbow is fine heading into spring training, he has been a mid-level arm and he’s never made more than 27 appearances in a major league season.
Washington should tilt toward upside/youth or proven high-level ability to fill out their 2022 starting rotation. Ross will turn 29 early next season, his resume is what it is at this point and his ceiling isn’t high. He’s hardly automatic to be back.