Sep 29, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Derek Law (58) walks back to the dugout against the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning at Nationals Park Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Important Nationals Reliever Has Setback, Shut Down for Few Days

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Brad Wakai | Last updated Jun 28, 2025 1:08 PM ET

The Washington Nationals have had bullpen troubles all year long.

Entering Saturday with a unit that owns the second-worst ERA in all of Major League Baseball (5.74), their relief staff is one of the biggest reasons why the Nationals are 14 games under .500.

Following the trade deadline, things could get worse on paper since the expectation is Kyle Finnegan is going to get moved, something that would hurt Washington's chances of closing out games.

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The hope was by the time their veteran closer gets dealt they would get back another key part of their bullpen, with Derek Law returning from the right forearm inflammation that has kept him on the injured list since the start of this campaign.

Unfortunately, it seems like that might not happen.

Law suffered a setback during his rehab assignment, with Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post sharing that manager Dave Martinez said the veteran reliever "felt sore" after he last threw, something that will result in the Nationals shutting him down for the weekend with throwing potentially resume on July 1.

Derek Law had another setback. He woke up sore the day after he threw with the same soreness he had in spring training. Davey said they'll give him a couple days off and see if they can get him throwing on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/LmNnXlvA07
— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) June 28, 2025

Law is coming off a season where he set a career-high in innings thrown and appearances, tossing 90 frames to the tune of a 2.60 ERA in 75 outings.

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Before that showing last year, the previous high in appearances was during his rookie season in 2016 (61), while the most innings he had ever thrown came in 2019 (60 2/3).

Not having the right-hander has been a major blow for this unit, and even though Washington didn't enter this campaign with expectations to compete for a division title or playoff spot, the organization knows this young group has to start experiencing winning, meaning they have to find relievers who can close out games when they have the lead.

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Law was expected to do that, but now the timetable for his return is even more murky.

Hopefully that soreness goes away over the weekend and he returns to throwing next week without another setback.

For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.

This article first appeared on Washington Nationals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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