NEW YORK – CJ Abrams is good to go again.
Abrams is back in the Nationals lineup for tonight’s game against the Mets after a four-day absence with a left shoulder ailment, having convinced club personnel he was OK to play after going through a full round of pregame workouts.
Abrams last played Thursday against the Marlins, when he made a diving stop of a sharp grounder up the middle at shortstop and jammed his left shoulder in the process. He remained in that game through its conclusion but was scratched the following evening and remained on the bench throughout the rest of the weekend as well as Monday night’s series opener at Citi Field.
Upon reporting to the park this afternoon, Abrams said he felt good enough to play. The Nats had him go through a full round of pregame workouts – batting practice on the field, ground balls at shortstop – before announcing their lineup, but manager Davey Martinez sounded optimistic when he spoke to reporters shortly before 5 p.m.
“We’ve got him in the lineup right now,” Martinez said. “He’s going to do his stretches, take some ground balls, hit, and we’ll see if he can get through it. He said he wanted to try to play today, so we’ll see how he gets through his early work, and we’ll go from there.”
Martinez initially thought Abrams would be fine to at least pinch-hit Monday night. But when several prime opportunities to use him passed late during a 2-1 10-inning loss, it became clear he wasn’t actually available.
“Yesterday when I was talking to him throughout about the possibility of pinch-hitting, he said he was still pretty sore,” Martinez said. “So I said OK, we’re just going to give you a day. I don’t want him to do something, tweak something. So we’ll give you a day, see how you feel. And today he said he actually felt a lot better.”
* Alex Call could make it back before season’s end from his foot injury.
Call, who suffered what looked like a serious injury Aug. 23 in Atlanta, was relieved to learn he had a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot. After treatment, rest and a specially made support in his shoe, he was back running within a couple of weeks.
Call has taken things a step further the last two days here in New York, participating in some defensive and running drills. Barring complications, he could be ready to play in some minor league games soon, leaving open the possibility he could come off the injured list during the season’s final week.
“He took fly balls yesterday and ran around pretty good,” Martinez said. “He’s going to do that again today and tomorrow. And if everything goes well, we might possibly send him out on a quick rehab. I know we’re running out of time here, but I’d like to get him back and get him into some games.”
* Though he has been able to build his arm back up without any apparent setbacks, Cade Cavalli won’t be pitching in any games before season’s end.
Cavalli, now 18 months removed from Tommy John surgery, has been throwing in West Palm Beach, Fla., ramping things up after he was shut down earlier this summer with what the team described as “dead arm.”
There was some thought Cavalli could at least get into a few minor league games before the end of the season, but Martinez all but ruled out that possibility when asked today. He also said it’s unlikely Cavalli would pitch in either the Arizona Fall League or Florida instructional league, preferring the right-hander focus now on coming to spring training 100 percent healthy.
“We talked to him about that, and I talked to (general manager Mike Rizzo) about that,” Martinez said. “We’re kind of in agreement: He worked really hard to get back to where he’s at right now. We just want him to continue his rehab and be ready for spring.”