Washington Nationals place Kelvin Herrera on 10-Day DL; call up Koda Glover

“I’ve never felt that before and it’s the first time that I’ve felt something like this,” Nationals’ reliever Kelvin Herrera told reporters after he left last night’s nightcap of the doubleheader against Atlanta in Washington, D.C. with right shoulder tightness.

There was an MRI scheduled for today, and the Nationals placed the veteran right-hander on the 10-Day DL this afternoon with what a press release on the move described as a right rotator cuff impingement.

Herrera gave up three hits and two runs before he got a visit on the mound from the team trainer, Paul Lessard, and manager Davey Martinez, who told the right-hander that he was done.

“We were looking at him, his ball was coming out okay, and then when I saw him go like this [shakes out arm] I thought there was something wrong,” Martinez explained

“So [Matt] Wieters went out there then we went out and I asked him what was wrong and he said his shoulder is tight, so I said, ‘That’s it, you’re done.’ He said, ‘Well...’

“I said, ‘You’re done.’”

Herrera, who came over from the Kansas City Royals in a mid-June deal, had a 1.05 ERA, two walks, 22 Ks, and a .207/.223/.283 line against in 25 ²⁄₃ innings pitched, finished the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves with a 4.76 ERA, eight walks, 15 Ks, and a .311/.386/.541 line against in 17 IP with Washington.

The 28-year-old reliever said he didn’t have an issue until he got on the mound in Nationals Park.

“I started feeling it actually when I got out on the actual field mound, and started warming up, getting my tosses in and getting ready,” he explained.

“I couldn’t finish pitches and I felt like I was aiming them instead of throwing them,” Herrera added.

Taking his place in the Nationals’ bullpen is hard-throwing right-hander Koda Glover, who has dealt with a variety of injuries over the last few seasons and was shout down this past Spring with inflammation in his right shoulder.

Glover, 25, was 1-0 with two saves and a 2.25 ERA (2 ER/8.0 IP) in eight outings at Triple-A Syracuse before he got the call, having struck out 10 batters while giving up just two walks.