Nationals' Stephen Strasburg: Lands on DL with back strain

Strasburg (back) was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 16 on Sunday, MLB.com's William Ladson reports.

Analysis:

Strasburg had hoped to make Sunday's scheduled start in Milwaukee, but apparently did not progress enough during Friday's bullpen session to make that a realistic possibility. The Nationals need to preserve Strasburg for the long haul, so it makes sense to take a conservative approach here. The move will free up a roster spot for the team in the short term, but Strasburg will be eligible to return as soon as July 1. If he can toss an encouraging bullpen session before then, it would be possible he rejoins the big league rotation without any sort of rehab outing. As far as the Washington rotation goes, Tanner Roark will get the ball for Sunday's series finale, and Joe Ross is a likely possibility to start Monday. The team would then need a starter Tuesday, but that should get cleared up when the team announces a corresponding roster move Monday.