VIERA, Fla. — When a wave of injuries struck the Nationals in the middle of the 2013 season, then-manager Davey Johnson grew accustomed to giving daily updates to reporters in a segment of his press conference he termed “the M.A.S.H. report.”
On Friday morning, manager Matt Williams gave his own M.A.S.H. report. With Opening Day a little more than a week away, the Nationals have four regulars still recovering from various maladies. Anthony Rendon has a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Jayson Werth and Nate McLouth each had offseason shoulder surgery. Denard Span had two surgeries this offseason, most recently on March 9.
There is a distinct chance that all of them could begin the season on the disabled list, but Williams said all are showing signs of progress.
“Everybody’s status quo, as of [Thursday],” Williams said. “Improvement.”
Most notably, Williams said Span was scheduled to swing a fungo in the batting cage Friday, his first swings since his most recent surgery. Span first had sports hernia surgery in December, then a second surgery to repair a “right core muscle injury” earlier this month. He was seen jogging in the outfield before Friday’s game.
Williams said the fact that Span had two related surgeries won’t slow his rehabilitation process.
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“We just want to make sure that we go through that progression accordingly, and when he’s ready, he’s ready,” Williams said. “But it’s a really good sign that he’s able to do some stuff, especially this early. It’s going to be light, of course, but nonetheless, he’s doing it. So that’s a good sign.”
In other injury updates, Williams said Rendon was expected to do some lateral movement drills Friday. “Ladder work,” he explained. Rendon injured his knee while diving for a ball March 9.
“He’s been running. Straight ahead has never been the issue,” Williams said. “The lateral movement is the issue with Anthony and his soreness. So they’re going to do a bit of that today, see where he’s at.”
Williams said Werth is “a little bit sore” following a heavy workload in recent days but continues to improve. McLouth is still working through his throwing program. Stephen Strasburg, who missed two starts with an ingrown toenail and ankle injury, is scheduled to start Saturday. And Drew Storen was supposed to pitch in Friday’s game, his first appearance on the major-league side since he had surgery on his non-throwing hand.
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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