As they await Bell's MRI, Nats prepping others at first base

As Davey Martinez sat down for his pregame Zoom session with reporters about 2 1/2 hours before first pitch in Miami, Josh Bell was in the process of getting an MRI on his right side. The results of that test will be on the Nationals manager's mind until he knows if his cleanup hitter can avoid a trip to the injured list.

"He said he feels about the same (as Thursday)," Martinez said. "It's not bad, it's not horrible, but it's there. We'll see what happens when we get this MRI result back."

Bell was a late scratch from Thursday's lineup after reporting tightness on his side. The Nationals are hoping it's not a full-blown oblique strain, but they were concerned enough to order the MRI.

Bell has finally become a more consistent threat at the plate after a brutal start to his first season with the Nationals. Since May 13, he's batting .298 with a .360 on-base percentage, .544 slugging percentage and .904 OPS that ranks 10th in the National League over that span. He also launched an opposite-field grand slam during Wednesday's 13-12 win in Philadelphia.

Even if the MRI comes back clean, Bell figures to need another few days off. That puts the spotlight back on Ryan Zimmerman, who tonight is starting at first base for the second straight game and is probably going to see more regular playing time for the immediate future.

After a red-hot start to his season, Zimmerman has cooled off considerably over the last month. Since May 30, he's batting just .156 with a .191 on-base percentage, .378 slugging percentage and .569 OPS. A notoriously streaky hitter throughout his 16-year career, Zimmerman's current struggles don't have the coaching staff all that worried.

"We all know who he is: He can get on a run where he can carry us for a while," Martinez said. "But he's a veteran guy. He understands the game. He understands his at-bats. He knows himself well. And he makes adjustments; that's a good thing about him."

Zimmerman, who is in his first season as a part-time player, has said he thinks he could play first base every day for a week or two if something happened to Bell. But he understands the more he plays, the greater risk he takes of suffering an injury.

So even if Bell lands on the IL, Martinez likely won't be pressing Zimmerman into 100 percent full-time duties.

"I'm going to go day to day with him," the manager said. "I have a conversation with him every day. I send the lineups out at night, and I always ask him in the morning if he's not feeling great, if he's feeling tight or anything, to let me know and we'll do something else. We're just going to go day to day. Today he said he felt good, and he's in there."

With all that in mind, the Nationals already are prepping other players to see some time at first base if needed. Martinez mentioned Gerardo Parra (who initially played first base when the joined the Nats in May 2019 due to injuries to Zimmerman and Matt Adams) during his pregame Zoom session, and afterward reporters on site in Miami noted both Kyle Schwarber and Jordy Mercer were taking grounders there during batting practice.

"I've got to make sure that (Zimmerman) is healthy," Martinez said. "We want him for the whole year. So Parra's taking some ground balls at first base as well, and he's played some first base over there. So if we have to use Parra at first base, we will."