Fedde making rehab start at Rochester, Gore could throw “light bullpen” on road

Davey Martinez had some encouraging updates on a couple of recovering pitchers before Wednesday’s getaway game against the Cubs.

Erick Fedde is lined up to make his first rehab start with Triple-A Rochester this afternoon as the Red Wings face the Worcester Red Sox.

Fedde has been on the 15-day injured list since July 30 (retroactive to July 27) with right shoulder inflammation, his last start coming on July 24 in Arizona. He threw two bullpen sessions leading up to a sim game on Friday in which he threw 47 pitches at Nationals Park.

“We would love him to go five or six innings and about 80 pitches,” Martinez said of Fedde’s rehab start during his pregame session with reporters.

The right-hander is 4-7 with a 4.95 ERA in 19 starts for the Nationals this season. With a rotation that is struggling to produce quality starts outside of Josiah Gray’s day to take the ball, the Nationals are hoping Fedde only needs one rehab outing before rejoining the major league squad. But that depends on how he does today in Worcester.

“We'll see how he comes out of it this afternoon,” Martinez said

MacKenzie Gore, who just played his first game of catch as a National on Friday, is slowly ramping up to his first bullpen session while recovering from left elbow inflammation.

Martinez alluded last week that long tossing would be the next step for Gore, who apparently has already taken that step and has given the Nationals reason to be optimistic he can graduate even further after this homestand.

“He's throwing the ball well,” Martinez said of Gore. “I think he's up to 120 feet throwing now. So I think by the time we go on the road, we might get him to throw a light bullpen. So that's great news.”

Gore joined the Nats from the Juan Soto and Josh Bell trade with the Padres already on the 15-day injured list, officially placed on July 26. But the Nationals said his medical reports came back clean enough to be included in the deal with the possibility he could take the mound again before the end of the season.

The 23-year-old had a 4.50 ERA, 1.471 WHIP, 9.3 strikeout per nine innings and 1.95 strikeout-to-walk rate in 16 appearances (13 starts) in his first major league action with the Padres this season.

With CJ Abrams now playing as the Nats' everyday shortstop, the organization and its fan base are hoping more major league-ready prospects join the club over the last 40-plus games of the season.