Nationals place Craig Stammen (forearm stiffness) on 15-day DL

The Washington Nationals have placed relief pitcher Craig Stammen on the 15-day disabled list with forearm stiffness.

The Washington Nationals have placed relief pitcher Craig Stammen on the 15-day disabled list with forearm stiffness, the team announced on Wednesday.

Stammen, 31, has thrown four innings across five appearances this season and has not allowed a run for the Nationals. 

He pitched in Tuesday’s loss to the Red Sox and he is hopeful after the results of early tests, Tom Schad of The Washington Times reports. He will undergo an MRI sometime this week.

“I think anytime it’s in that part of your arm, everybody jumps to worst-case scenario. But hopefully that’s not the case,” Stammen said. “All the tests came back that it isn’t the case. But you never know. I’m optimistic about it, and hopefully it’s calmed down in a few days.”

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Tuesday night was Stammen’s fourth appearance in five days, but he did not blame the team for his injury.

“I put it all on me, because I told them I could pitch,” he said. “And if I tell them I can pitch, then I should pitch. If I tell them I can’t pitch and they pitch me, then you can argue that the manager made the wrong decision. But because I told them that I could pitch, that meant I could pitch.”

With the loss on Tuesday, the Nationals dropped to 2-6 on the season. 

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- Jack Jorgensen