Washington Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon was back at Nationals Park on Monday, but for all the wrong reasons.
Instead of rejoining the big-league team on the field, Rendon traveled to Washington to see team doctor Wiemi Douoguih about lingering tightness on his left side. After Monday’s game, manager Matt Williams said Rendon was diagnosed with a left oblique strain, significantly delaying his return to the Nationals.
Williams declined to reveal the severity of the strain or outline a timetable for Rendon’s recovery, but the 24-year-old will miss several more weeks. He will rest until he is cleared to resume baseball activities, then begin an entirely new rehabilitation process.
“We’re going to have to slow his progress down a little bit,” Williams said. “He’s felt it for the last couple days, so we’re going to have to sit him a little bit longer and make sure it’s okay before he resumes activity. It’s just not getting loose for him. So there’s a little strain in there and we’ve got to take care of it and knock that out before he gets back at it.”
Williams said Rendon will remain in Washington until he’s ready to play. He also indicated that Rendon could receive additional tests on the muscle, though an MRI likely would have led to the initial diagnosis.
Rendon’s strained oblique is the second suffered by a Nationals infielder this season. Yunel Escobar also had a mild oblique strain during spring training.
SEE ALSO: Doug Fister pitches Nationals to second consecutive 1-0 win over Mets
“He was 10 days back to activity or so, so we’ll have to see how Anthony reacts,” Williams said. “There’s no timetable on it until we fully assess it.”
Rendon began a rehabilitation stint at Double-A Harrisburg last week but has appeared in only one of the affiliate’s past seven games. He was first scratched from the lineup April 27 with what the team described as “fatigue,” then missed the following day’s game with tightness in his side. Rendon returned to Harrisburg’s lineup Friday and played five innings but has not played since.
Rendon won a Silver Slugger award at third base for the Nationals last season after hitting .287 with 21 homers, 83 RBI and a National League-leading 111 runs scored. He started the season on the disabled list because of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
It is unclear whether he will play second or third base when he rejoins the Nationals, a return that seemed near but is now at least several weeks away.
“I don’t know why it’s been a problem. It’s just crept up on him,” Williams said before Monday’s game. “So we’re being cautious with it to make sure that it doesn’t turn into something we don’t want it to turn into.”
Johnson has surgery, could be out for the year
Reserve outfielder Reed Johnson had surgery this weekend to repair the peroneus longus tendon, which runs through the left ankle and foot. Williams said the 38-year-old veteran is at home resting, and the team is not sure whether he will return this season.
“It’s a question of rehab and how it comes along,” Williams said. “So that one’s kind of up in the air. We just don’t know. The fact that it’s repaired and put back together is good. So we’ll see how it goes.”
Johnson was a late addition to Washington’s roster, signing a minor-league contract with the team less than a week before its season opener. He hit 4-for-18 (.222) in 12 games with the Nationals before sustaining the injury last week in Atlanta.
Janssen lined up for Thursday rehabilitation appearance
Right-handed reliever Casey Janssen threw one inning at the team’s minor-league complex in Viera, Florida, on Monday. Williams said he is in line to make a rehabilitation appearance Thursday barring any setbacks.
Janssen has spent the entirety of his first season in Washington on the 15-day disabled list with rotator cuff tendinitis in his right shoulder. Williams said he still has several hurdles to clear before rejoining the Nationals.
“Well he’s got to make sure that he gets through the normal spring training-ish work,” he said. “So that would mean that he would get, certainly in a more competitive game, not so much controlled. So that’s probably Thursday, if all goes well and he feels good, and then we’d have to get him a back-to-back as well like we always want to do with relievers.”
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.