Murphy, Goodwin to rehab with Double-A Harrisburg

MIAMI - After missing the first two months of the season due to knee surgery recovery, second baseman Daniel Murphy will begin his rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg tomorrow at home against Altoona, Nationals manager Davey Martinez announced this afternoon.

The Senators are home through Monday against the Curve, then travel to Hartford. Martinez said that outfielder Brian Goodwin is also healthy enough to join Murphy with Harrisburg to begin his rehab assignment.

"That's great news for us," Martinez said. "Definitely headed in the right direction.

"Of course, you get excited when some of these guys are getting real close, but yet my focus is here right now and getting 25 guys to win a ballgame today."

Murphy has missed 49 games as he recovers from offseason microfracture knee surgery. Goodwin has been out since April 16 with a wrist injury and has missed 33 games.

Murphy was slowed in his rehab last week at extended spring training because of a flu or virus, so he hasn't been able to play as many games as he would have wanted in West Palm Beach.

"When he can. The weather's been so bad," Martinez said. "And he was sick there for a while. He's played the last couple days, four or five innings, and now he's ready for rehab."

The plan is to bring Murphy along slowly on this rehab assignment because the Nationals want to make sure he has the strength he needs in the knee. Murphy has said a few times when he has been interviewed that he wants to come off the disabled list "only once" this season, meaning when he comes back, he wants to come back for good.

"We'll probably start him off five or six innings," Martinez said. "See how he feels. Maybe give him a day off in between, something like that. He looks good. I saw some videos of him running and hitting. He hit a double the other day and ran the ball out really well. It's progress. Hopefully he can get back and help us here soon."

So how long will Murphy and Goodwin be on their rehab assignments? Is Goodwin closer to returning than Murphy?

"I really don't have a timetable for either one," Martinez said. "The good news is they're both going out on a rehab assignment. Hopefully, there's no bumps on the road and we moved forward and they get back as soon as possible."

Ryan Zimmerman is with the club in Miami. The veteran first baseman is recovering from a right oblique strain and has been out since May 10:

"He's doing good," Martinez said. "It's progress. Like I said the other day, he swung the bat a little bit. We're progressing. It's going to hit off the tee I think today."

Rookie sensation Juan Soto went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on Wednesday in the 3-1 loss to the Padres. Martinez said he spoke with the 19-year-old after the game and said Soto was in the right frame of mind, not overwhelmed.

"Yeah, he gets it," Martinez said. "After the game, we were laughing and joking around. I told him, 'Hey, you're not going to go 10-for-10 here, buddy'. You'll have to take your bumps and bruises. But everybody's done it. The biggest thing for you is swing and strikes. Take your walks and play good defense. That's it. He gets it."

Soto is in the lineup for the fourth consecutive game, batting fifth behind and playing left field.