Solís close to returning from DL, Werth and Glover need more time

The Nationals hoped they'd have Jayson Werth and Koda Glover back by now. Turns out the player closest to returning from the disabled list is Sammy Solís.

Solís has made four rehab appearances for Triple-A Syracuse, including back-to-back games earlier this week, and appears to be on the verge of rejoining the Nationals bullpen.

"Sammy Solis is getting close," manager Dusty Baker said this afternoon. "He's getting very close."

The left-hander has been on the DL since April 19 with an inflamed nerve in his pitching elbow, and though his rehab process has taken much longer than initially hoped, he has made significant progress in the last two weeks.

After a stint working out and pitching in simulated games at the Nationals' complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., Solís joined Syracuse last week for a rehab assignment. He has since made four appearances, throwing a total of 48 pitches, the only two hits he has allowed both clearing the fence for home runs. He also pitched both Tuesday and Wednesday, an important back-to-back milestone to cross for any reliever during a rehab assignment.

The Nationals appear to expect to have Solís back in their bullpen within a matter of days at this point, hoping the 28-year-old can help stabilize that long-suffering unit.

It does not appear they expect to have either Werth or Glover back that soon, though each has made progress.

Werth, on the DL since June 4 with a bruised left foot, is now out of the walking boot he had been forced to wear for some time after fouling a pitch off his instep in Oakland. He is not, however, putting his full weight on the foot yet, and thus has not resumed baseball activities.

To this point, Werth's conditioning has been limited mostly to swimming. Like, a whole lot of swimming.

"He pulled his hair back," Baker said. "I wanted to know if he has any gills yet, cause he was swimming a lot. I told him he's starting to look like Michael Phelps a little bit."

The Nationals have received solid production with Werth out. Their fill-in left fielders (Brian Goodwin, Ryan Raburn, Adam Lind) have hit a collective .268 and slugged a collective .507 since Werth went on the DL.

"The guys have done a great job in his absence, but we miss him," Baker said. "I don't care what anybody says. We miss him. We miss his presence. We miss him on the field, off the field, on the bus, in the clubhouse. Most people don't think it, but there's something to leadership. Big-time."

The Nationals certainly miss Glover in their bullpen as well, forced to mix and match closers in his absence. They'll continue to face that dilemma for a while longer, because the right-hander (on the DL since June 11 with lower back stiffness) has not yet begun a rehab assignment.

Baker hadn't yet checked in with Glover when he met with media members earlier this afternoon, saying only "I'm sure it's driving Koda crazy as much as anything" to be watching the Nationals from afar.

Neither Glover nor Werth made themselves available to reporters when the clubhouse was open today prior to batting practice.