The Nationals announced that left-hander Andrew Chafin has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. Chafin’s placement is retroactive to June 11. Right-hander Ryan Loutos (who was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers earlier this week) was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding roster move.
Signed to a one-year, $1MM Major League deal at the start of May, Chafin has a 3.18 ERA over 11 1/3 relief innings for Washington. The secondary metrics include a 25.9% strikeout rate that exactly matches Chafin’s career average, as well as a 57.1% groundball rate that harkens back to Chafin’s early-career model as more of a groundball specialist. Chafin has yet to allow a home run this season, which partially explains why he has kept his ERA in check despite a huge .414 BABIP and an uncharacteristically huge 20.4% walk rate (almost double his career 10.3BB%).
Chafin has traditionally kept pretty even numbers against both left-handed and right-handed batters, though his splits are rather pronounced this year — right-handed hitters have an .871 OPS over 26 plate appearances and lefty batters have only a .607 OPS in 28 PA. Chafin, Jose A. Ferrer, and Colin Poche (who is now in the Mets organization) are the only left-handers who have seen action in Washington’s bullpen this season, and Ferrer is now the last southpaw standing with Chafin sidelined.
The severity of the hamstring strain isn’t yet known, so for now there isn’t any reason to expect Chafin to be out of action for much more than the 15-day minimum. The 30-39 Nationals will need to really heat up in order to avoid being sellers at the trade deadline, and a veteran rental pitcher like Chafin would seem like a prime candidate to be moved if healthy.