Two games with Single-A Hagerstown on a injury rehabilitation assignment have shown the Nationals what they needed to see. As a result, center fielder Denard Span has been activated off the seven-day concussion disabled list.
He'll be in today's starting lineup against the Cardinals.
Span was injured last Friday in a collision between first and second bases with Atlanta's Dan Uggla.
Because of Span's history of concussion problems - he missed most of the 2011 season with the Twins after sustaining a concussion - the Nats wanted to tread carefully with their leadoff man. They placed him on the DL, gradually ramped up his activity level and checked him daily before sending him out Thursday night on a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment with the Suns.
In two games with the Suns, Span went 2-for-4 with four runs, two RBIs and a stolen base.
To make room for Span on the 25-man roster, outfielder Steven Souza Jr. has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.
Here are today's lineups:
For the Cardinals:
3B Chris Carpenter
CF Jon Jay
LF Matt Holliday
1B Matt Adams
RF Allen Craig
SS Jhonny Peralta
2B Kolten Wong
C Tony Cruz
RHP Lance Lynn
For the Nationals:
CF Denard Span
LF Bryce Harper
RF Jayson Werth
1B Adam LaRoche
3B Anthony Rendon
SS Ian Desmond
2B Danny Espinosa
C Sandy Leon
RHP Jordan Zimmermann
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