Gallo returns to roster, but not lineup; Law gets good MRI results

It’s been more than two months since Joey Gallo last played for the Nationals, a significant hamstring strain having brought his season to an immediate halt on July 11 in Detroit. The team’s lineup that evening included a host of names no longer affiliated with the organization: Lane Thomas, Jesse Winker, Eddie Rosario, Nick Senzel.

Finally activated off the 10-day injured list today, Gallo is healthy but not in the Nats lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Rockies. The lineup instead includes a host of names playing at Triple-A two months ago: James Wood, Juan Yepez, Alex Call, Andrés Chaparro, José Tena.

“It’s funny, because when I was down there, a lot of these guys I met down there. And now they’re up here,” Gallo said “I actually know everybody really, really well. I don’t know if it’s a good thing that I know everybody, because I was hurt. But it’s cool. It’s a new clubhouse, but it’s the guys I already knew and was hanging out with down there.”

Gallo spent the last two weeks at Rochester on an extended rehab assignment, during which he hit three homers, drove in eight runs, walked 11 times, struck out 12 times and saw action both at first base and in right field.

The extra work, he believes, was necessary after the long layoff.

“To me, it was just getting my legs back under me,” he said. “Obviously not playing for a while is tough, baseball especially. So getting live pitching, real game environments, that was the big thing for me.”

Gallo’s not in tonight’s lineup, partly a byproduct of the Rockies starting left-hander Austin Gomber and partly the byproduct of the change in directions the Nationals have taken since the last time he played. The focus right now is on young players, and Davey Martinez suggested today the likes of Chaparro, Yepez and Tena will get priority over Gallo the rest of the season.

“We’ll get him some playing time against some right-handed pitching,” the manager said. “We’ve got some guys we want to see play. … It’s good to see him back on his feet and running around. But we’ve got some young kids we want to see play.”

For his part, Gallo (who signed a one-year, $5 million contract over the winter and has delivered only five homers, 11 RBIs and a .606 OPS in 46 games) insisted he understands the situation.

“It’s a young team, and I’m the freaking old guy now,” he said with a laugh. “So I want to help these guys out as much as I can, be a good example.”

With Gallo back on the active roster, the Nationals optioned outfielder Travis Blankenhorn to Triple-A. They also made a change to the bullpen, activating left-hander Robert Garcia off the bereavement list and optioning right-hander Orlando Ribalta back to Rochester.

* The Nationals got good news on Derek Law’s elbow in the last 24 hours. Law, who landed on the 15-day IL with what was initially deemed a flexor strain, underwent an MRI on Monday that showed no structural damage, only mild irritation to the ulnar nerve.

The veteran right-hander, who leads all major league relievers with 75 2/3 innings pitched this season, isn’t cleared to throw yet but he was allowed to participate in fielding drills with the rest of the Nats pitchers this afternoon.

“Really good news about Derek Law, because I was a little bit concerned,” Martinez said. “Anytime you talk about the elbow, it’s concerning.”