Washington Nationals’ starting rotation still a question as series vs Chicago Cubs begins...

[ed. note - “In advance of this weekend’s three-game set with the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field, we sent the following to our SB Nation sister site , Bleed Cubbie Blue’s series preview, to give their readers an idea of what’s going on with the Washington Nationals as they arrive in the Windy City.

“As of now, 9:35 PM EDT, the Nats still haven’t named their starters for the second and third games of this weekend’s series. We should have our own preview up later in the morning, but for now, here’s what we told Cubbies fans they should know about the Nats, and you can check out their full preview through the link below.”]:

Dusty Baker is always quick to qualify, whenever he talks about the injury issues his players are dealing with, that no one is going to feel sorry for you, so you just have to get over it and move forward. Everyone deals with injury issues, of course, and the organizational depth you’ve accumulated as a team goes a long way in determining who survives the grind of a 162-game schedule.

The recent injury concerns with Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer are just the latest to hit the Nationals, who have been without Jayson Werth, Trea Turner, and Michael A Taylor for quite a while now. They also lost Adam Eaton for the season just when fans in the nation’s capital were starting to understand why GM Mike Rizzo was willing to deal away three prospects (Lucas GIolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dane Dunning) to acquire the veteran outfielder this winter, and lost Joe Ross to a torn UCL and Tommy John surgery.

Every team can list all the injuries that have impacted their roster, but depending on how a few things fall, the effect they’ve had on the Nats’ rotation could be obvious in the three-game set with your Cubbies. Strasburg is dealing with a nerve impingement in his right elbow. Scherzer is dealing with a neck issue which ended his last start just one inning in, and Gio Gonzalez will potentially be away from the team for the birth of his second child this weekend (not an injury I know).

Two of the three would likely have started this weekend. Who will start instead? As of now (9:35 AM Friday), the Nationals have only announced Friday’s starter, Tanner Roark...