Catching up with Danny Rosenbaum

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With the Nationals experiencing an inordinate amount of injuries this season, a revolving door of opportunity has opened up for players in their minor league system. Through 62 games in 2013, they have already produced five major league debuts and needed eleven total call-ups.

Specifically with pitching, the Nationals have already needed more reinforcements for their starting rotation than they did all of last season. They have called on veteran Zach Duke out of the bullpen, rookie Nathan Karns from Harrisburg, and are expected to bring up Ross Ohlendorf from Triple-A for Wednesday in Colorado.

Still waiting for his own call-up is Syracuse lefty Danny Rosenbaum, who is as close to realizing his MLB dream as he’s ever been. In his fifth year as part of the Nationals’ minor league system, Rosenbaum is 5-3 with a 3.44 ERA for the Chiefs this season. He has succeeded at each of the Nats’ affiliates with a career 2.91 ERA in the minors.

Knowing it could happen any day now, Rosenbaum is trying to focus on the task at hand and taking care of business at Syracuse. He said it can be distracting to think about it too much and believes it affected his performance last year.

“It’s really good to see all these guys get called up,” he said. “But it’s something that I can’t really stress about or worry about. I think that’s what I did last year and that’s when I started getting in trouble. I was thinking about all the wrong things. I need to stay focused on what we’re doing and just keep pitching.” 

Espinosa to DL, H-Rod and Duke DFA'd

[Updated 6:07 p.m.]

Returning home a game below .500 after a series loss against the Atlanta Braves, the Nationals made major roster moves on Tuesday in attempt to right the ship.

Second baseman Danny Espinosa was sent to the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to June 3), and relief pitchers Henry Rodgriguez and Zach Duke were designated for assignment. Called up to replace them were infielder Anthony Rendon from the Syracuse Chiefs and relief pitcher Ian Krol from the Harrisburg Senators. Outfielder Jayson Werth was also activated from the disabled list.

“It was a tough day for me,” manager Davey Johnson said. “Any time you have to designate a couple of your family to the waiver list, it’s tough. You feel a little lost that you couldn’t have put them in situations to get better. So it hurts, it hurts both ways.”

“It has nothing to do with trying something different,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “It’s putting the best 25 out there at this particular time to help us win baseball games. “

Instant analysis: Braves 6, Nats 3

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Paul Maholm held the Nationals to two earned runs over six innings.

Game in a nutshell: After a frustrating, 10-inning loss last night, the Nationals knew they needed to win the series finale to take two of three from the Braves, avoid falling below the .500 mark and 6 1/2 games behind their division rivals. But rookie Nate Karns couldn't complete five innings for the second time in as many starts, and Zach Duke poured more fuel on the fire in relief. The Nationals scored a couple of quick runs off Paul Maholm but then were completely silenced after that and limped their way to an uneventful loss. So, for the first time since April 30, Washington is under .500 (28-29) and now faces a season-high 6 1/2-game deficit to Atlanta.

Hitting lowlight: Just when you think the Nationals lineup might get something going, they revert back into their old habits. Despite

Detwiler to DL, Cedeno coming up

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Ross Detwiler is headed to the DL with a lingering oblique injury.

His lingering oblique strain not yet completely healed, Ross Detwiler will have to spend time on the disabled list, forcing the Nationals to look for another fill-in starter for Tuesday night's game against the Orioles.

Detwiler appeared to be good to take the mound as planned after completing a bullpen session Saturday with no issues. But while testing himself during a Sunday morning fielding drill, the left-hander felt the oblique tighten up, and team doctors decided not to take any chances.

"He went out and was doing some running and playing catch and complained," manager Davey Johnson said. "Whereas it's better than it was, it's tight, and we didn't feel like it was the best thing. ... We're not going to rush it and exacerbate it at this point."

Detwiler will be placed on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 16, the day after he last pitched in Los Angeles. He would be eligible to return June 1, one day before his turn in the rotation would come up again (Sunday in Atlanta).

Game 45: Nats at Giants

Associated Press

Beautiful AT&T Park hosts the Nationals for the next three days.

What's the best cure for a struggling lineup? How about the return of its best hitter from injury? Bryce Harper is back tonight for the Nationals, having missed the last two games in San Diego over the weekend with a bruised knee (from his collision with the wall in L.A. one week ago). His presence in the No. 3 spot really does make that starting lineup look a lot more formidable, especially with Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche each on a tear at the plate right now.

The Nationals might need an offensive explosion tonight, because they're sending to the mound someone who wasn't in their original Opening Day rotation for the first time this season. With Ross Detwiler hampered by a slight oblique strain, Zach Duke gets the nod for his first MLB start since 2011. The veteran lefty has been erratic out of the bullpen so far, but his background is as a starter, so perhaps he'll be more comfortable taking the ball for the first inning tonight.

Duke will be working with Jhonatan Solano, getting a rare start behind the plate. Struggling Ryan Vogelsong is on the mound for the defending World Series champion Giants, who are struggling themselves at the moment and desperately need to get themselves back on track.

As you know, I'm not on this West Coast trip, but I'll be staying up late and watching along with the rest of you. Enjoy the game and the conversation...

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: AT&T Park
Gametime: 10:15 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 189
Weather: Clear, 63 degrees, Wind 6 mph out to RF

NATIONALS (23-21)
CF Denard Span
2B Steve Lombardozzi
RF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman

VIDEO: Do they need a lefty specialist?

As surely you know by now, the Nationals are likely to open the season without a traditional, left-handed specialist in their bullpen, relying instead on right-handers Tyler Clippard, Ryan Mattheus and Craig Stammen to retire some of the league's toughest lefty sluggers.

How do the interested parties feel about this plan? Several share their thoughts in this segment from Comcast SportsNet.

How important is a lefty reliever?

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

Bill Bray is competing for a spot in the Nationals' bullpen.

VIERA, Fla. -- When Davey Johnson looked to his bullpen last season and wanted to summon a left-hander, he had no shortage of options. Sean Burnett was one of the best setup men in baseball. Mike Gonzalez was a seasoned veteran capable of retiring some of the game's toughest left-handed sluggers. And Tom Gorzelanny was versatile enough to pitch four innings or face one batter in a big spot.

All three of those southpaws, of course, are now wearing different uniforms, leaving the Nationals without one slam-dunk lefty for their 2013 relief corps.

As far as team officials are concerned, this is nothing to worry about.

"We're going to go with the best guys," general manager Mike Rizzo said. "The amount of left-handed relievers has never been a priority to me. Mostly because we've got right-handers that can get

Ramos back behind the plate

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

Wilson Ramos catches his first bullpen session since tearing his right ACL.

VIERA, Fla. -- It might not have looked like much -- 10 minutes spent catching pitches from left-hander Zach Duke -- but for Wilson Ramos, this morning's workout represented a major milestone on the long road back from major knee surgery.

Ramos caught a bullpen session for the first time since he tore the ACL in his right knee last May and emerged with a wide smile following the Nationals' first official workout of the spring.

"I was crazy to start playing again," he said. "Now I put my gear on, and I'm very happy for that. It was great to put it on. Now I feel like I'm on the team again. I'm back."
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Nats re-sign Duke

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Nationals have re-signed left-hander Zach Duke to a one-year, major-league contract, addressing one of their needs for an affordable long reliever.

The deal has not been announced yet, but a club source confirmed the signing.

Duke returns after a solid September cameo in Washington in which he posted a 1.32 ERA over eight appearances. He spent the majority of the season as a starter at Class AAA Syracuse, going 15-5 with a 3.51 ERA.

The 29-year-old, an All-Star with the Pirates in 2009, figures to serve as the long man in the Nationals' bullpen, taking over the role held by Tom Gorzelanny this season. Gorzelanny performed well in the role -- he boasted a 2.88 ERA in 45 games -- but the Nationals elected not to tender him a contract last week, worried his salary would jump to as high as $4 million through arbitration.

Terms on Duke's contract aren't yet known, but he'll make significantly less than Gorzelanny.

The Nationals are still looking for at least one more left-handed

Duke, Garcia added to bullpen

As well as each was pitching all summer at Class AAA Syracuse, neither Zach Duke nor Christian Garcia ever gave serious thought to the possibility of getting promoted to join the Nationals before season's end.

Not that they hadn't performed well enough to merit consideration for a promotion. But with the Nationals posting baseball's best record behind the sport's best pitching staff -- and considering neither held a spot on the organization's 40-man roster -- they knew the odds were slim at best their services would be needed at the big-league level.

That only made the experience of donning Nationals caps and jerseys for the first time this morning sweeter for both players. Each had his contract purchased and was promoted to Washington for the remainder of the season.

"I knew the way these guys were throwing up here that for me to get called up there'd have to be an injury -- or probably two or three injuries -- so I didn't expect to be called up," Duke said. "It was pretty shocking and very overwhelming. ... I'm just so thankful for it."