Williams set to make rehab start Tuesday for Harrisburg

PITTSBURGH – There are only three weeks left in the Nationals' season. Trevor Williams is determined to make sure he pitches for them again before everyone heads home for the winter.

The right-hander, out since late May with a flexor strain in his elbow, believes he’s on track to do just that. He’s faced live hitters twice in the last week-plus, and he’s now ready to go on what figures to be a brief minor league rehab assignment that would allow him to rejoin the big league rotation to make perhaps a couple of starts at the end of the month.

“It feels good,” Williams said this morning. “We’re where we need to be. I’ll go on a rehab assignment and get back out here as fast as possible, as long as we’re feeling good.”

Williams faced live hitters here at PNC Park on Thursday, and he has emerged from that session with no issues. He’s now set to start for Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday in what will be his first competitive game since May 30.

Williams is scheduled to throw four innings and perhaps build up to 65-70 pitches. Manager Davey Martinez has said the 32-year-old probably needs to get up to 80 pitches before he’s activated off the 60-day injured list, so he may need to make one more rehab start before returning.

In a perfect world, the Nationals would have wanted a rehabbing starter to pitch more times in the minors before coming back. But given the compressed timeline here, it’s not going to be possible. Even so, Williams insists this process hasn’t felt rushed at all.

“No, we’re doing everything we can,” he said. “If this wasn’t September and it was June, we’d still be on the same timeline. No, we’re feeling good.”

On the heels of a frustrating year in which he finished with a 5.55 ERA and league-worst 34 homers surrendered, Williams bounced back in impressive fashion earlier this season. In 11 starts, he went 5-0 with a 2.22 ERA, allowing only two homers over 56 2/3 innings.

A pending free agent, Williams was never going to be viewed as part of the long-term plan here (though it’s possible the Nats could re-sign him this winter to either be the No. 5 starter or a long reliever). But he has been targeting his return for a while and believes he can still provide value to the team down the stretch.

“I’m disappointed I wasn’t able to help the team as much as I could’ve this year,” he said. “I wish I could’ve been posting up with the guys in the rotation. So if I’m able to contribute any way possible at the end of the year, it’s something that I’m thankful to do.”