Stephen Strasburg heads to the 10-day DL with arm injury; Erick Fedde promoted

Stephen Strasburg will miss his next start on Saturday and head to the 10-day disabled list with an arm injury.

In a corresponding move, the Nationals will promote Erick Fedde from Triple-A Syracuse to start Saturday’s game against the Colorado Rockies.

Strasburg’s trip to the 10-day DL is a result from his injury suffered Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he left the game after two innings with forearm soreness.

After Wednesday’s 8-5 win against the Milwaukee Brewers, Nationals manager Dusty Baker said the move is being taken as a precaution.

“He’ll miss one turn,” Baker said. “Good thing, this is where the 10-day DL comes into effect, to help him. … We’ll put him on the DL tomorrow. We’ll backdate it, then he’ll only miss one turn.”

Strasburg underwent an ultrasound Tuesday that revealed a “nerve impingement,” which had been alleviated. Still, the 28-year-old pitcher will head to the DL to further the odds he’s available in September and October than further aggravating the injury.

“I think if you look around the league, a lot of teams (put players on the DL) willingly,” Ryan Zimmerman said. “So, I think obviously we got to try and win each game, each day, and he gives us a really good chance to win every time he pitches every fifth day. … Big picture, we got to make sure that he’s able to help us win every fifth day in a month or two from now.

“I’m sure he wasn’t too happy about it because that’s the kind of guy he is. But the training staff back there has been pretty good for us, and they usually make the right decision,” Zimmerman said.

In Fedde, the Nationals are calling up their third-highest ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. With Syracuse, Fedde has a 5.57 ERA in 10 games and four starts. The 24-year-old pitcher was promoted from Double-A Harrisburg earlier in the season.

This is Strasburg’s first stint to the DL this year and ninth of his career. The Nationals star has had a checkered injury history, including undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2010. Strasburg also missed last year’s playoffs with a torn pronator tendon.