PHILADELPHIA — The Nationals were still awaiting results of the MRI taken of Jordan Zimmermann’s right arm earlier Saturday, hoping the test showed nothing serious after the pitcher took himself out of Friday night’s game with cramps in his biceps muscle.
Manager Matt Williams said he expected to get word before the end of the Nationals’ game against the Phillies, once team doctors had ample opportunity to study the MRI films.
Zimmermann didn’t make himself available to reporters before the game but took the field with his teammates during batting practice and stood in the outfield alongside other pitchers shagging flies. He did not appear to make any throws.
“He said he feels OK,” Williams said. “He’s a little sore in his bicep. We’re very cautious in that regard, given his history, given radiating feelings of things with regards to elbows and stuff like that. So we’ll see what the results are.”
Zimmermann had Tommy John surgery for a torn elbow ligament as a rookie in 2009 but insisted Friday night he had no elbow or shoulder pain, with the discomfort limited to his biceps muscle.
The Nationals haven’t mapped out a course moving forward yet, but they can afford to take their time bringing Zimmermann back, even if the injury isn’t serious. With the All-Star break coming up, they wouldn’t need a fifth starter until July 22 at Cincinnati.
Williams wouldn’t rule out the potential of Zimmermann being able to make his first turn out of the break.
“It depends on what [the injury] is. It depends on what the results show,” he said. “When we went out there last night, he said: ‘My biceps cramped up.’ So if it was a biceps cramp, then yeah, there’s potential [to not miss a start]. If it’s something more serious than that, then probably not. So as soon as we have these results, we’ll know more, and we’ll know what the protocol would be to get him back for his next start, whenever that would be.”
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