Nationals Give Injury Update on Jake Irvin, And It's Not the Most Ideal

The Washington Nationals put Jake Irvin on the 15-day injured list back on May 24 with what was diagnosed as a shoulder strain in his throwing shoulder.

That was brutal timing for the right-hander since he had thrown five no-hit innings during his start on May 23 before he had to be pulled from his outing due to that injury. However, there was some hope that he'd be back in the rotation quickly since the diagnosis could have been a whole lot worse.

Unfortunately, it seems like Irvin could have a longer absence than originally expected. According to Mark Zuckerman of Nats Journal, Irvin hasn't been cleared to throw yet.

Jake Irvin Hasn't Progressed Like Nationals Intitially Thought

Washington Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Manager Blake Butera stated Irvin's shoulder has felt better as he's gone through exercise progressions, but the process has gone slower than expected, which is why the right-hander hasn't resumed throwing as of June 1.

That isn't the most ideal update. While Irvin hasn't been elite this season by any means with an ERA of 5.23 across his 11 starts, it seemed like he might have turned the corner in his last two outings when he allowed just two total earned runs on six hits across nine innings pitched with 13 strikeouts and one walk.

Ideally, this doesn't turn into a major setback and Irvin is able to start throwing soon so he can work his way back to the Nationals as soon as possible and build upon the success he had during his last two starts.

Blake Butera Will Need to Continue Being Creative With Pitching Staff

Washington Nationals manager Blake Butera | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

So far this season, Butera has used openers quite a bit. To start, they were mainly used in front of veterans Zack Littell and Miles Mikolas, which resulted in both having their best months to date during May. But with Irvin now likely to be on the shelf for longer than initially expected, Butera might have to shift some things around.

Andrew Alvarez, who took the place of Irvin in the rotation, had an opener pitch in front of him during his last outing. It seems like that will continue during his next turn, which means Littell will likely shift back to starting games, which he only did in three out of his six outings in May.

How Irvin progresses in his recovery will be something to keep an eye on now, as this was not the most ideal injury update since it sounds like he's going to miss more time than expected at this point.

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