Nationals Reliever Orlando Ribalta Placed on IL With Ominous Injury Update

Ahead of Monday's series opener against the San Diego Padres, the Washington Nationals revealed that a roster move was made to their pitching staff. However, unlike the ones that have taken place previously, this one was due to an injury.

Right-hander Orlando Ribalta, who has been solid for the Nationals this season with a 3.77 ERA across 45 outings, was placed on the 15-day IL due to right forearm inflammation. As a result, they recalled fellow right-handed Yovanny Cruz to take Ribalta's place on the roster.

Unfortunately for both Ribalta and Washington, it sounds like the 28-year-old could be on the shelf for a while based on the ominous description of this injury.

Nationals Waiting for MRI Results on Orlando Ribalta

Washington Nationals pitcher Orlando Ribalta | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

According to Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic, Ribalta "felt something in the outside of his right forearm" on Sunday. Mark Zuckerman of Nats Journal added that Ribalta was unavailable for the finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers since his forearm didn't feel right during warmups. Zuckerman added that Butera "sounded concerned" when discussing the nature of Ribalta's injury, and Nusbaum shared that the skipper stated the righty won't be able to pitch "in the near future."

Ribalta is set to get an MRI done in San Diego, and that will reveal more about what he's dealing with. At the time of writing, the results have not been announced, so there is only speculation about what might be coming for Ribalta.

Losing him for any lengthy period of time -- especially if it's all of 2027 -- would be a massive blow for Washington. They already have issues with their relief staff, so not having an ascending 28-year-old
-- who has above average stuff and has induced whiffs and chase at an above average clip during his breakout season this year -- would be tough.

Hopefully, this is nothing major. But based on the way Butera was talking about Ribalta's injury and the fact that his forearm didn't feel right, everyone should be holding their breath as they wait to get back the MRI results.

In the meantime, the hope is that Cruz's stint down on the farm after he was demoted following a rough stretch allowed him to reset and figure some things out. The flamethrowing righty possesses big-time stuff, but due to his control issues -- five walks to four strikeouts across four innings -- that bled into giving up hits at a high rate, he didn't show well during his first spell with Washington.

Cruz is someone to keep an eye on for next season, as he might find himself in the closer role if he can put everything together and reach his high ceiling.

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