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Just as they’re getting one reliever back from a major elbow surgery, the Nationals are worried another key reliever may have a serious problem with his elbow.
On the same day they activated Mason Thompson off the 60-day injured list, the Nats transferred Derek Law to the 60-day IL and revealed the veteran right-hander will be getting an MRI on his elbow after experiencing a recurrence of pain following his most recent rehab appearance.
Law has been attempting to work his way back since late March, stymied by setbacks on several occasions along the way. The 34-year-old, who made 75 appearances while totaling 90 innings as the workhorse of the Nationals bullpen last season, already was shut down a week recently before coming back to pitch for Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.
Though that outing (one scoreless inning, one walk, one strikeout) went well, he told team officials he had a recurrence of elbow pain the next day, prompting them to shut him down again and bring him back to D.C. for a new MRI.
“I’m more concerned for him,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Because he wants to come back and help us. The big thing is to figure out what’s really going on. We thought we were over the hump there, but his elbow started barking again. We’ll go get an MRI and we’ll see what the MRI says.”
When Law last had an MRI around Opening Day, it showed no structural damage to his elbow. That encouraged the veteran that he would be OK with rest and rehab and ultimately be able to pitch a good chunk of this season. At this point, even if the new MRI shows nothing, he’s likely looking at an even longer IL stretch than initially expected, putting his status for the rest of the season in question.
A Nationals bullpen that ranks last in the majors with a 5.91 ERA has sorely missed Law for months. It also has missed Thompson, making the 27-year-old’s return today an uplifting development for a team that sorely needs one.
Thompson hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since Sept. 10, 2023, when he was optioned to Triple-A amid a prolonged rough stretch. He reported to West Palm Beach the following spring and reported elbow pain, ultimately leading to Tommy John surgery. He has spent the last 15 months rehabbing from the second ligament replacement surgery of his career, making seven minor league rehab appearances over the last three-plus weeks.
Back-to-back scoreless outings for Rochester earlier this week were the final test for Thompson, who was elated to learn Thursday he was being activated by the Nationals.
“It’s a lot of excitement, for sure,” the 27-year-old said. “Just being around the guys and feeling like a major league baseball player again, that’s really exciting. Emotional, too. Last time I pitched in the big leagues, my grandfather was still with us. This time, he’s not. So it’s a lot of emotions, for sure, but definitely excited to be back here.”
Thompson takes the bullpen spot previously held by Zach Brzykcy, who was optioned to Triple-A this afternoon. Brzykcy gave up two runs during Friday’s blowout loss to the Red Sox, raising his ERA to 7.40 in 23 major league appearances this season. The rookie, who missed the 2023 season following Tommy John surgery, heads back to Rochester, where manager Davey Martinez wants him to pitch in high-leverage situations and get better at maintaining consistency from pitch to pitch.
“I think Brick’s stuff plays up here, I really do,” Martinez said. “It’s all about throwing strikes, getting ahead. Let him go down there and just settle down a little bit. Once he fell behind, everything sped up on him. We just want him to go down there, settle down. Look, he’s had an unbelievable last couple years with the injuries. He worked his way back up here. We really believe he’s still going to be able to help us.”
