Gray ready to begin rehab assignment Sunday

Josiah Gray is ready to pitch in a competitive game again.

Gray, who has spent nearly two months on the 15-day injured list with a flexor strain in his forearm, has been cleared to begin a minor league rehab assignment. The exact date and location hasn’t been finalized yet, but manager Davey Martinez suggested it’s most likely to come Sunday at Single-A Fredericksburg.

“I would like to send him to the closest affiliate for now, because I want him to come back here after he pitches,” Martinez said. “So if Fredericksburg is home, that’s probably where he’ll go.”

The Fred Nats indeed are home Sunday afternoon against Kannapolis, so that appears to be the answer.

Gray landed on the IL on April 9 after two rough starts to his season. He slowly built his arm back up and in recent weeks pitched in three simulated games against teammates. The last of those came Tuesday when the right-hander threw 65 pitches over three innings.

The plan now is for Gray to throw four innings in the first of what should be several rehab starts before he’s activated and rejoins the big league rotation.

“The good news is that he really feels healthy. That’s awesome,” Martinez said. “We’ll get him going, we’ll get him built up. Hopefully he’ll have his first one on Sunday, and then we’ll get him on that five-day rotation and we’ll see where it goes.”

The Nationals have taken their time with Gray, not wanting to push him back too soon. They’ve also used the opportunity to iron out his mechanics, something that couldn’t have been done had he been pitching every fifth day in competitive games all along.

“His mechanics are a little bit cleaner. He’s using his legs a little bit more,” Martinez said. “He looked good yesterday. Yesterday, the ball was coming out easy. His velo was 92-93 (mph). It was a lot less effort than it was before. His direction was a lot better, which we worked on a lot during his stint, so hopefully he takes that into the game.”

* The date and location of Cade Cavalli’s next rehab start remains undecided, the Nationals choosing to give the right-hander some extra time before he next takes the mound.

Cavalli, who has made three minor league starts as he attempts to return from Tommy John surgery, last pitched Thursday for Single-A Wilmington. He didn’t allow a hit over 2 2/3 innings but issued three walks, hit a batter, was charged with a wild pitch and threw 30-of-54 pitches for strikes.

The right-hander has been back at Nationals Park this week meeting with coaches and the training staff before the next step is determined.

“Just giving himself a little break, a little breather,” Martinez said. “He’s been pushing himself pretty hard. We’re still ahead of the game a little bit. We just want to ease up a little bit.”