Nats hope healthy Zimmerman doesn't go cold after week off

It's not uncommon for Ryan Zimmerman to go an entire week without appearing in a major league game. This is a player, after all, who has dealt with every manner of injury throughout his 16-year career, and has required time off both in the short and long term to get his body right.

But never before has Zimmerman missed an entire week while on the Nationals' active roster and, by all accounts, healthy enough to play. Until this week.

It's been seven days since the face of the franchise showed up in a boxscore. He started last Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks, going 0-for-4, one day after his pinch-hit homer. Since then, the Nationals have played five games in six days, and Josh Bell has started at first base in all of them.

Zimmerman has stepped into the on-deck circle a couple of times for potential pinch-hitting opportunities, only to head back to the bench when the inning ended before his spot came up. He hasn't replaced Bell in the field at any point in-game so far this season.

And Zimmerman again isn't in the lineup for today's series finale against the Mets, with the .147-hitting Bell again at first base and batting cleanup.

Davey Martinez has been asked multiple times about Zimmerman this weekend and every time the Nats manager has insisted the 36-year-old is not only healthy but feeling great physically. He's even taken ground balls at shortstop and fungoes in the outfield just for fun and to keep himself moving around.

Martinez has his reasons for sticking with Bell all week - the need to get the club's top offseason acquisition going at the plate for the long-term benefit of the lineup, a desire to show confidence in his defensive ability late in games - but he also acknowledges his hope to get Zimmerman an at-bat at some point.

The fear, of course, would be that Zimmerman (who swung a red-hot bat all spring and has opened this season 10-for-33 with two homers and an .839 OPS) could get cold sitting around so much. He's almost certainly going to play this week when the Nationals face the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla., and need a designated hitter. They can only hope he still feels good at the plate in spite of his unexpected week off.

"We tried to get him an at-bat yesterday, it just didn't work out," Martinez said from New York during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "But he's working hard. He takes a lot of swings. He keeps himself ready to go at all times. But he gets it. I talk to him almost every day. He understands his role. He says he'll be ready. Hopefully we get him in the game today, to get an at-bat or so. But when we get to (Dunedin), either he'll be DHing or Josh Bell will be DHing. He'll be in the lineup."

Some injury updates heading into today's series finale ...

* Juan Soto hit off a tee Saturday and "felt fine," according to Martinez. The 22-year-old slugger is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list Friday, but he still needs to show he can make throws from the outfield without experiencing shoulder trouble before the club can make plans to activate him.

* Stephen Strasburg is throwing from 120 feet on flat ground, building his arm back up after going on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. Strasburg still needs to be cleared to start throwing off a mound before the Nats can set a rehab program for him that includes a return to the rotation.

* Wander Suero simulated throws without a ball and is "doing great," per Martinez. The reliever has a strained left oblique and still needs to build his arm back up once he's cleared to actually throw again.

* Jon Lester and Will Harris are both scheduled to pitch today at the alternate training site in Fredericksburg. This is Lester's third rehab start, and he's scheduled to throw six innings or 90 pitches. If all goes well, he could be activated off the COVID-19 IL to make his season debut at the end of the week. Harris, who has inflammation in his right wrist, is making his first game appearance since the middle of March.