Nationals reinstate Stephen Strasburg from DL, place Joe Ross on 15-Day DL

The Washington Nationals got Stephen Strasburg back from the 15-Day DL this afternoon. Strasburg was a game-time decision as the Nats waited to see if he was good to go after missing two starts with an upper back strain/rib issue that led to the 27-year-old right-hander having to have his ribs "popped" back into place. He was able to take the mound for the series finale with the Reds, but as he came back, the Nationals placed another starter on the disabled list.

Joe Ross, 23, landed on the DL for the first time in his two seasons in the majors with what a press release on the move described "right shoulder inflammation".

Ross struggled over his last few starts, leaving the ball up on the zone early in his outings and last night there was a drop in velocity as the night went along that didn't escape the notice of his manager, Dusty Baker, who noted the velo in his post game press conference.

"They were hitting Joe pretty good," Baker said when asked about the outing.

"The ball was up and then we went to get him cause we noticed -- the one good thing about the radar gun is that you can see when a guy's velocity has gone down."

Baker was asked about the level of concern about the drop in velocity which saw the right-hander go from throwing 92-94 mph sinkers to throwing 89-90-ish. Were they concerned about his health?

"No," Baker said. "I mean, not right now. We're looking into it, into some things. We were limiting his innings, if you hadn't noticed. We'd skipped him and then we usually take him out in the sixth and seventh inning, even though he would cry for some more. We were trying to limit his workload."

Ross will apparently get a break for now while they check out the shoulder. More info if any from Baker's post game presser later today.

The #Nats reinstate RHP Stephen Strasburg from the 15-day DL, place RHP Joe Ross on the 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation.

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 3, 2016