Zimmerman heading to left field for P-Nats

All the talk about Ryan Zimmerman playing left field is about to move from conjecture to reality.

Nationals manager Matt Williams said this morning that Zimmerman's minor league rehabilitation assignment with high Single-A Potomac will continue this evening with the veteran scheduled to play in left field for five innings. The P-Nats host Salem at Pfitzner Stadium at 6:35 p.m.

"The plan is he'll play five innings tonight on defense," Williams said."He had four at-bats last night DH-wise, so he's got to get back in the field to play. Tonight he'll play five innings in left field."

For Zimmerman, who has manned third base for 1,119 games in his 10-year major league career (and shortstop for a game back in his rookie season of 2005), this marks the start of positional change put in motion when he went on the 15-day disabled list on April 13 with a fractured right thumb.

Zimmerman began his rehab stint with the P-Nats last night and went 0-for-3 with a sac fly and an RBI. He told reporters in Woodbridge, Va., last night that he expected to play three more games with Potomac and hoped to be activated by Tuesday, when the Nats begin a series at home against the Phillies.

"He felt good, he wanted another (at-bat)," Williams said. "Four's good for one day. He'll play five full innings, regardless of where they're at in the lineup."

Williams joked that he fully expected to get a phone call from Zimmernan during tonight's Washington Nationals Dream Foundation Gala pleading for one more at-bat.

Zimmerman has been taking ground balls at first base and third base, and particpating in drills in the outfield to prepare for a return to the 25-man roster. When that happens, it's likely the former All-Star third baseman could rotate between the three positions, at least until sometime in July, when Bryce Harper recovers from thumb surgery and returns to left field full-time.

Asked if he felt Zimmerman was ready to play left field, Williams said: "He's ready. He's done a lot of work out there. You still have to do it, though. He's ready to go."

The real test will come when Zimmerman has to read a liner to left off a bat, take a route to a fly ball or uncork a throw from an unfamiliar position.

"There's no way to get a true, real line drive-type balls - even in batting practice, you can't really simulate it," Williams said. "So that's the difference: The ball's coming off the bat differently, with more authority. .... The ball comes off the bat harder, quicker movements."