Nationals get bad injury update on 4.16 ERA left-hander originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Washington Nationals may have to wait a while longer for a left-handed pitcher to make his return to the mound.
DJ Herz has not pitched at the Major League level since his rookie year in 2024 with the Nationals.
Last season, he missed the entire year due to Tommy John Surgery. Most recently, he was making rehab appearances in the minors to work his way back.
But according to Byron Kerr of MLB.com, Nationals manager Blake Butera told reporters that Herz has been shut down from his rehab assignment due to a flexor muscle strain.
“The silver lining is that the current issue is muscular rather than renewed ligament damage. That makes it unlikely he’ll need surgery or have anywhere near the same layoff as he did coming back from the UCL injury,” Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors wrote. “It’s nevertheless a frustrating setback that leaves Herz without a clear timeline for return.”
Herz was an eighth-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in 2019. The Nationals acquired him from the Cubs in exchange for third baseman Jeimer Candelario in 2023.
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Herz made his MLB debut in 2024 and posted a 4.16 ERA in 19 starts. That year, Washington was a bad club, but Herz managed to record 106 strikeouts in 88.2 innings.
As Franco detailed, there’s currently no timetable for the 25-year-old’s return.
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