WASHINGTON -- Nationals right-hander Jeremy Hellickson will go on the 10-day disabled list with a sprained right wrist, manager Dave Martinez said prior to Friday's series opener against the Marlins at Nationals Park.
Hellickson (5-3, 3.57 ERA) suffered the injury Wednesday using his hand to break his fall after a play at the plate following a wild pitch. He departed the 4-2 loss in St. Louis after pitching 4 1/3 innings, and, while X-rays were negative, an MRI revealed damage to the joint Friday.
Martinez said the official roster move may not come until Saturday. The hope is for Hellickson to miss one start.
"He's still pretty sore," Martinez said. "They said he hasn't gotten any better. So, we'll have to wait and see. Hopefully with treatment it will get better quick."
Hellickson has made half of his 18 starts and picked up six of his eight decisions since June 30.
His turn in the rotation could potentially be filled by right-hander Stephen Strasburg (neck injury), who last pitched on July 20.
"A lot of it will depend on how he feels tomorrow," Martinez said of Strasburg. "He's going to throw another pretty heavy bullpen, and then we'll go from there."
Worth noting
• Martinez expressed concern that closer Sean Doolittle may try to alter his mechanics in order to return from a toe injury that has kept him out of action since early July.
"It scares me a little bit, and it's something that we've talked about," Martinez said. "We don't want him really to make any adjustments. We kind of want him to feel like the Sean Doolittle of before his toe got hurt."
Doolittle was scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Friday.