Doolittle throws live BP session

NEW YORK – Sean Doolittle took a significant step forward in his rehab from a procedure on his left elbow.

The left-hander, signed to a minor league deal and working out at the Nationals complex in West Palm Beach, finally faced live hitters in a batting practice session for the first time since the early portions of spring training.

“Doolittle actually threw a live BP,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame meeting with the media in his office at Citi Field. “I'm still waiting on the results now, but the gist of it is that he felt really good. And so I want to see what the velo is and how many pitches he threw. I haven't got it yet.”

Even with the specific details of the outing still to be known, getting on the mound and facing live hitters is no small feat for the 36-year-old.

“We were trying to get him about 20 pitches,” Martinez said. “So like I said, I haven't seen the results yet. But from what I heard, he said he felt really good afterwards.”

After having a less-invasive alternative to Tommy John surgery that repairs but doesn’t replace a torn ulnar collateral ligament in a pitcher’s elbow, Doolittle was limited to just 5 ⅓ innings over six appearances last year. He repeatedly tried to come back at some point during the season while trying to avoid Tommy John and ultimately chose to have this procedure in hopes of a faster recovery to prepare for this season.

Doolittle reported to camp healthy. And through the first couple of weeks in February, he looked poised to earn a spot in the Nationals’ Opening Day bullpen. But he and club officials came to the decision to pull him back, thinking it was not worth him ramping up for the start of the season and preferring that he take it slow for the long-term.

Now after barely throwing a ball for the past couple of weeks, he’s able to take the bump again and face live hitters. But as was the case in spring training, the Nationals are more focused on how Doolittle recovers and not so much on the possible date of his return.

“My focus is about today and getting him through today,” Martinez said. “And the big thing is going to be seeing how he feels tomorrow. So I'll get an update on what he did and then how he feels tomorrow.”

While it is a significant step forward for the southpaw and the Nationals surely want him back in their ‘pen (Anthony Banda remains the only left-handed reliever currently on the roster), the Nats still know it’s going to take Doolittle some time before he’s even ready to go on a rehab assignment.

“Basically, where we're at right now is the start of spring training with him,” Martinez said. “So he's gonna have to throw, get a couple of live BPs and then we'll see how he does from there. But he's gonna have to pitch, we're gonna have to get him back-to-back days. So we still got some time.”

* Corey Dickerson is feeling better and closer to running while nursing a left calf strain, per his manager. The 33-year-old only appeared in the season’s first two games before landing on the 10-day injured list.

“Corey Dickerson is getting closer,” Martinez said. “The pain is diminishing, so we're hoping by next week he'll be running and then we'll get him going after that.”

* Ildemaro Vargas has crossed almost everything off his to-do list while recovering from a right shoulder strain. The only problem that currently still stands in the switch-hitter’s way is some discomfort while swinging right-handed.

“Vargas is doing all baseball skills,” Martinez said. “He's getting close. He's still got a little bit of a pinch swinging right-handed. So once that dissipates, we'll get him, probably, on a rehab assignment.”