Edwards, Harvey and Rainey inching closer to returning

PHILADELPHIA – While this four-game series between the Nationals and Phillies actually gets underway this afternoon, let’s revisit some injury updates from manager Davey Martinez that he gave prior to yesterday's rainout.

The Nationals have seven relievers currently on the 15-day injured list, with a handful of them making significant strides toward returning soon.

Carl Edwards Jr., on the IL with right shoulder inflammation, is getting close to a rehab assignment with a minor league affiliate after throwing bullpen sessions and working toward a simulated game. If he clears those next two sessions while at the Nats’ facility in West Palm Beach, a rehab assignment would come next.

“Carl Edwards is continuing the throwing program,” Martinez said yesterday. “He'll throw a bullpen again tomorrow. If everything goes well, he's set to throw the sim game and then hopefully that goes well. And if everything goes well with that, we'll probably send him out on a rehab assignment. So progression, very good.”

Hunter Harvey, who is with the team in Philly while rehabbing his right elbow strain, was scheduled to throw another bullpen session today. If the Nats get a good report back from that, he too will head out on a rehab assignment soon.

“Hunter Harvey threw a bullpen the other day,” Martinez said. “He's throwing another one (today). If that goes well, we'll have to consider maybe sending him out as well. So we'll see how that goes.”

The really good news is that Harvey is progressing better than the Nats anticipated given his injury history. This is his fifth trip to the major league IL since 2020. And he had a handful of injuries before his big league debut with the Orioles in 2019, including Tommy John surgery in 2016.

But even with the positive progression, the Nationals still want to be careful with their closer.

“This is definitely way better than what we expected, only because of his history. But he said he feels great,” Martinez said. “He threw the ball really well a couple of days ago. Like I said, he'll throw another bullpen (today). He'll throw all of his pitches (today). It was just fastballs the other day. If that goes well, we'll see how it goes, but the ball was coming out hot. So he's looked good, so we'll see how it feels (today).”

Tanner Rainey is still rehabbing from his own Tommy John surgery. From the get-go, he has stated he was aiming to return to by this point of the season. Though he’s not quite there yet, the Nationals are hopeful he can make a couple of appearances before the end of the season and are excited to see him throw when he meets the team back in D.C. this weekend.

“We're gonna treat this as they treat any other Tommy John,” Martinez said. “We will have him, though. He's gonna come up and I want to see him throw again here with us. So he's gonna come up this weekend, and possibly throw a bullpen or maybe even throw to some hitters so we can evaluate and see where he's at. But he's feeling good. He's throwing the ball well, so we'll see what happens. I want him to try to finish up some time on the field with us, maybe get an inning or two if that's the case. But I just want to make sure that we take it slow with him and get him back, make sure he's completely healthy.”

While it has been decimated by injuries lately, the Nationals bullpen has been performing really well. Over the last 16 games, the ‘pen has posted a 2.39 ERA – the best in the National League and third-best in the majors during that span – plus a 1.139 WHIP and 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings over 52 ⅔ innings since July 21.

But that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking forward to some reinforcements rejoining them soon.

“When Hunter comes back, he's one of our mainstays in the back end of the bullpen. But it gives us options, too,” the skipper said. “These guys, as of late, have been pitching a lot, so we could do some different things. But I really want Hunter to come back. But with that being said, we're gonna make sure that he's 100 percent healthy. These other guys are pitching and they're pitching well. (Andrés) Machado's getting an opportunity to pitch in some high-leverage situations and done well. (Jordan) Weems has done well. And our lefties have done well too down here, so we're excited about that. So we'll see how his next bullpen goes and then go from there.”

Other injury updates from Martinez:

On Victor Robles (lumbar spine back spasms): “Victor is still running on the AlterG (anti-gravity treadmill), working out. He does feel a lot better. So hopefully by the time we get back home, we can start getting him to run on the field, which will be great.

On Thaddeus Ward (shoulder inflammation): “Thad Ward is continuing his throwing program. He threw a sim game on Saturday. He went two innings, 34 pitches, so that was good.”

On Mason Thompson (left knee contusion): “Mason just started riding a bike today and doing some lower body strengthening and started putting some strength back in the knee.”

* The Nationals selected Amos Willingham as their 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Phillies. He’ll be available for both games after the Nats optioned him back to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday to make room for Trevor Williams’ return from the bereavement list.

“He's been here before,” Martinez said. “We know he could go multiple innings if we need him, so he was a good option for us. So he'll get a chance to help us both games.”