6:30pm: Gray told the Washington beat that the strain is muscular ( ). Imaging revealed that his UCL is fully intact. Needle s to say, its a significant plus that there Colten Rastetter Jersey doesnt appear to be any kind of structural damage that would raise the po sibility of surgery. 3:2opm: The Nationals announced that right-hander has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right elbow/forearm flexor strain. The move is retroactive to April 6 and righty has been recalled in a corresponding move. The Nats have not yet provided any kind of information relating to the severity of Grays injury or how long they expect him to be out of action, but its the latest in a string of elbow injuries to notable pitchers around the league. The season is le s than two weeks old but has already seen pitchers like and be sent to the operating table for Tommy John surgery. could follow them since he has sustained damage to his ulnar collateral ligament, though its not yet been determined whether he will have surgery or not. was scratched from yesterdays start and sent to meet with doctors after experiencing elbow sorene s. was placed on the IL earlier today due to a flexor strain, though Bostons chief baseball officer characterized it as mild. All of those injuries are on top of pitchers who were injured last year and are still recovering, a list that includes guys like , , , , and many more. The ever-growing list has led to a between MLB and the MLBPA, with the league blaming pitchers chasing high velocity and spin while the players point to the pitch clock. Gray will now add another notable injury to that pile. He may not have as much big league succe s as some of those aforementioned pitchers, but he is nonethele s a notable name due to his former status as a top prospect and trade chip. Now 26, Gray was a top 100 prospect during his time with the Dodgers before coming to the Nationals as a key piece of the that sent and to Los Angeles. Gray has not yet truly lived up to that hype, with a 4.84 earned run average in 386 2/3 innings in his major league career. He had a 3.91 ERA last year but may have been lucky to have allowed so few runs to score. His 20.5% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate were each below league average, but his 80.4% strand rate was on the high side. His 4.93 FIP and 5.08 SIERA were each more than a run higher than his ERA, perhaps suggesting regre sion was coming. His first two outings in 2024 resulted in 13 earned runs scoring in 8 1/3 innings, though the injury may have also played a role in that. Nonethele s, Gray has been an important building block for the Nats amid their ongoing rebuild. If he ends up needing to mi s significant time, that could be a blow to Gray and the club in what was likely seen as a key development year. He came into 2024 with two years and 75 days of service time, meaning that he will qualify for arbitration for the first time going into 2025 and is slated for free agency after 2027. The Nats have a number of their best prospects nearing the majors and would ideally like to see Gray take a step forward to be a part of their next competitive window but an extended absence would obviously get in the way of that plan. For now, hell be removed from the rotation for at least a couple of turns. For now, Adon will take Grays spot next to , , and . Adon has 121 2/3 innings of major league experience with a 6.66 ERA. Eric Epenesa Jersey