Important Nationals Reliever Has Setback, Shut Down for Few Days
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The Washington Nationals have had bullpen troubles all year long.
Entering Saturday with a unit that owns the second-worst ERA in all of Major League Baseball (5.74), their relief staff is one of the biggest reasons why the Nationals are 14 games under .500.
Following the trade deadline, things could get worse on paper since the expectation is Kyle Finnegan is going to get moved, something that would hurt Washington's chances of closing out games.
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The hope was by the time their veteran closer gets dealt they would get back another key part of their bullpen, with Derek Law returning from the right forearm inflammation that has kept him on the injured list since the start of this campaign.
Unfortunately, it seems like that might not happen.
Law suffered a setback during his rehab assignment, with Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post sharing that manager Dave Martinez said the veteran reliever "felt sore" after he last threw, something that will result in the Nationals shutting him down for the weekend with throwing potentially resume on July 1.
Derek Law had another setback. He woke up sore the day after he threw with the same soreness he had in spring training. Davey said they'll give him a couple days off and see if they can get him throwing on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/LmNnXlvA07
— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) June 28, 2025
Law is coming off a season where he set a career-high in innings thrown and appearances, tossing 90 frames to the tune of a 2.60 ERA in 75 outings.
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Before that showing last year, the previous high in appearances was during his rookie season in 2016 (61), while the most innings he had ever thrown came in 2019 (60 2/3).
Not having the right-hander has been a major blow for this unit, and even though Washington didn't enter this campaign with expectations to compete for a division title or playoff spot, the organization knows this young group has to start experiencing winning, meaning they have to find relievers who can close out games when they have the lead.
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Law was expected to do that, but now the timetable for his return is even more murky.
Hopefully that soreness goes away over the weekend and he returns to throwing next week without another setback.
For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai