Adams activated, Collins designated for assignment

When he learned he had fractured his left index finger June 15 in Toronto, Matt Adams assumed he'd be forced to miss a considerable amount of time, certainly more than a month.

Only 19 days later, though, Adams is back on the Nationals' active roster, available off the bench for today's series finale against the Red Sox and set to rejoin the lineup this weekend against the Marlins.

"From everything that was being told to me, I think it's a little sooner than we expected," the left-handed slugger said. "That's a good thing. But the vibrations of the ball on the bat, and catching the ball ... it's not feeling as bad. That's a good sign."

Adams said doctors told him it typically takes six weeks for such a fracture to fully heal, but he's in no danger of re-injuring himself after two weeks. It's just a matter of him tolerating whatever discomfort he feels if he gets jammed on a pitch or hits a ball off the end of his bat.

He has already experienced both sensations during a simulated game against minor league pitchers Monday and then a three at-bat rehab stint Tuesday night with Double-A Harrisburg, and said he emerged from it all feeling fine.

"It's like a little stinger when it happens," he said. "But it goes away fast. That's a good sign. It's not staying around and lingering."

So the Nationals will have one of their missing big bats back, hoping Adams' presence (off the bench today against Boston left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, but in the lineup at first base again once they face a right-hander) will help get this team out of its prolonged funk.

"If you look at the game of baseball, a lot of good teams go through a stretch like this. This team's going to show everybody that we're a group of winners. We're going to deal with this stretch of tough luck, you could say, and we're going to turn it around and be right where we need to be at the end of the year."

Adams' return gives the Nationals a natural lefty-righty combo at first base along with Mark Reynolds. And with Ryan Zimmerman on track to return next week once he's eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list, the Nats will have no shortage of options at first base. That does mean, however, that Daniel Murphy is going to have to move back to second base on something of a permanent basis.

Murphy, who has started only one game at second base since returning from offseason knee surgery, is off today after a quick turnaround from Tuesday night's game, but manager Davey Martinez said the general plan will be for Murphy to play second base on days Adams plays first base.

Needing to clear a roster spot for Adams this morning, the Nationals designated left-hander Tim Collins for assignment. The move may have come as a surprise to the 28-year-old reliever, who has a 2.77 ERA in 17 games, but the Nats had been going with extra men in their bullpen for a while, and none of the eight pitchers who were still here had options.

Thus, the club now risks losing Collins to another team via waivers, unless it can work out a trade.

"Very tough," Martinez said. "Collins did well for us. It's just a numbers game at this point. ... I hope we get him back. But he's been really good for us."

With a seven-man bullpen for the first time in a long time, Martinez admittedly will have to be more careful in his usage and warm-up procedures, not wanting to unnecessarily burn up any pitchers.

"For me, it's just about getting guys into situations where I think they can succeed," the first-year manager said. "We've got to watch the up-and-downs now. We've got to get them in, or maybe get them up once, see how it plays out, and then the next inning get them in."

Meanwhile, Joe Ross is back in town for a few days to meet with trainers and doctors and throw in front of team officials. Ross, who is 11 months removed from Tommy John surgery, said he has been throwing off a mound in West Palm Beach and is close to facing live hitters for the first time since his elbow reconstruction.