Scherzer on IL with groin inflammation

WASHINGTON -- Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to Saturday, with groin inflammation. He will miss Wednesday's scheduled start against the Pirates.

“I just want to be more cautious than not,” manager Dave Martinez said Tuesday afternoon. “This is an injury that, right now, it's getting better. So we want it to completely get better. It's something that we don't want him to reinjure with the fact that we're going to force him to try to pitch. So we'll give him a few extra days, and hopefully it won't take long for him to come back and he'll just miss a start."

Scherzer exited Friday’s start against the Giants after just 12 pitches. An MRI taken during the game revealed inflammation but no muscle strain. While Scherzer has been able to do running and agility drills, he was unable to loosen up while pitching.

“I would injure this worse,” Scherzer said Monday of potentially starting as scheduled. “That’s the risk you’re taking trying to pitch through this. This is just something you can’t pitch through. I’ve pitched through a lot of other things, found a way to do a lot of other stuff. But this one you just can’t get around.”

Scherzer has been the anchor of the Nats’ starting rotation this season with a 5-4 record, a 2.21 ERA and 104 strikeouts over 13 starts. The pitching staff is shorthanded without right-handed starter Stephen Strasburg (neck strain) and righty relievers Daniel Hudson (right elbow inflammation), Austin Voth (broken nose) and Will Harris (thoracic outlet syndrome).

Martinez was considering his options to start Wednesday, including Paolo Espino, Jefry Rodriguez or a bullpen game. The Nationals have flexibility with upcoming off-days on Thursday and Monday, as well as a seven-inning doubleheader against the Mets on Saturday.

In corresponding moves, the Nats selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Justin Miller from Triple-A Rochester and designated right-hander Rogelio Armenteros for assignment.

Miller is a familiar face in Washington -- he appeared in 68 games out of the bullpen during the 2018-19 seasons. During that time, he was 8-1 with a 3.71 ERA and 71 strikeouts. This season, the 34-year-old has posted a 1-0 record and a 0.55 ERA in 16 1/3 innings with the Red Wings.

“He had a mix of a good fastball and a really good slider,” Martinez said. “He deserves to be here right now. He was the best available and throwing the ball well, so he's here to help us win."

Armenteros has been dealing with injuries this season. He was 0-4 with a 5.83 ERA in seven Triple-A starts.

“We want to see his fastball get back up,” Martinez said. “Hopefully, he sticks around with us. We don’t know. But if he does, we’re not going to give up on him if he comes back. But we needed a roster spot right now.”