After missing the first 41 games of the season with rotator cuff tendinitis in his right shoulder, right-handed reliever Casey Janssen was activated by the Washington Nationals before Friday’s series-opener against the Philadelphia Phillies.
In a corresponding move, the team placed left-hander Sammy Solis on the 15-day disabled list with left shoulder inflammation. Solis had not appeared in a game since Sunday, after which the soreness appeared.
“Over the course of his time here, he felt pretty good,” manager Matt Williams said. “But after his last outing, he complained of a little bit of soreness in his shoulder. It didn’t get better as much as he wanted it to get better, so over the last couple of games certainly against New York, he wasn’t available. So the fact that Casey’s ready, the fact that we wouldn’t know if he would be available for this series, either, we decided to go ahead and nip it in the bud and make sure that we can get it calmed down.”
Janssen had been in the midst of a minor-league rehabilitation assignment at Double-A Harrisburg. He pitched a scoreless eighth inning Wednesday and was scheduled to appear in a minor-league game again Friday. Instead, he is in Washington, and could make his team debut.
“Yeah, I’m right where I need to be as far as arm and body wise,” he said. “I’m excited. I’m excited to put on the uni for the first time when it matters. Spring training was like a kid on the first day of school, and today again it’s the same kind of thing. I’m going to be down in the bullpen for the first time. I’m going to be pitching on the mound for the first time. So I’m excited for it, and of course I’m hoping for positive results.”
The 33-year-old spent the first eight seasons of his major-league career in Toronto before signing a one-year, $5 million contract with the Nationals this winter. He was expected to fill the eighth-inning role vacated by Tyler Clippard before being diagnosed with tendinitis late in spring training.
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Janssen was disappointed to land on the disabled list in his first season with a new team, and moving past the injury took longer than expected.
“It was tough,” Janssen said. “I said to some people that those games that we lost early on that were late, I took it hard on myself because I should’ve been the guy in that situation, and I should’ve been the one getting that loss or pitching well enough where we didn’t have to have that struggle. But guys pitched great. I think they’re all better for it now, pitching in tight games, and hopefully we’ve got a good thing going now.”
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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