Nationals' DJ Herz Shut Down After Rehab Setback
DJ Herz's return to the Washington Nationals will have to wait.
While on a rehab assignment with Single-A Fredericksburg, Herz suffered a setback in his recovery from last April's Tommy John surgery. The left-hander was scratched from Sunday's scheduled rehab start because of forearm tightness stemming from his previous outing. An MRI ultimately revealed a flexor muscle strain, leading the club to shut him down for now.
Herz has a flexor muscle strain, per the Nationals. Unfortunate setback for the lefty, who was progressing well last week. https://t.co/zVj5knf4It
— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) June 22, 2026
Herz, 25, missed the entire 2025 season after being diagnosed with a partial UCL tear in late March. He made 19 starts for the Nationals the year prior, going 4-9 with a 4.16 ERA and a 10.8 K/9 rate over 88.2 innings as a rookie.
On June 5, Herz began his rehab assignment with four strikeouts over two 1-2-3 innings in the Florida Complex League. He fanned another four batters over three perfect frames at the same level on June 11 before progressing to Single-A. During his most recent outing on June 16, he allowed one run on four hits while striking out three in 2.2 innings.
3 strikeouts in 2 innings for DJ Herz. We think he looks pretty good @Nationals! pic.twitter.com/vwAGp53vqH
— Fredericksburg Nationals (@FXBGNats) June 16, 2026
"It's unfortunate because he was throwing the ball really well," Nationals manager Blake Butera told a group of reporters, including MLB.com's Byron Kerr. "He felt like he was getting pretty close. The stuff looked good. So, it was a little bit of a surprise. At the end of the day, we are just going to take some time now to shut it down and strengthen and recover a little bit."
Without the setback, Herz might have been ready to return around the All-Star break. Pulling him from his rehab assignment has no immediate roster implications since he was already on the 60-day IL. However, it is now unclear when the left-hander will be back.
The Nationals entered Tuesday with a 41-38 record, putting them in a three-way tie for the final NL Wild Card spot. They currently have MLB's highest-scoring offense, but their pitching staff has allowed the fourth-most runs in the league. Getting a healthy Herz back in the second half - whether as a starter or bulk reliever - could be pivotal to the club's postseason push.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 1:10 PM.