Fister briefly discusses elbow issue, plus split-squad lineups

VIERA, Fla. - Doug Fister didn't want to discuss his elbow issue in much detail this morning, but the Nationals right-hander did briefly answer a couple of questions about his health a day after he was scratched from his scheduled start against the Astros due to inflammation in his right elbow. According to manager Matt Williams, Fister felt discomfort in his elbow after his first spring training start, which came last Sunday against the Marlins. Williams said that an MRI showed inflammation in the elbow, but that "reports are good" and that Fister could have continued to pitch if it was the regular season. Instead, Williams and the Nats decided to bump Fister from his scheduled start and skip his turn in the rotation. "Just some inflammation," Fister said this morning. "Just taking a start and getting it better. So that's it." Two springs ago, reliever Drew Storen felt discomfort in his right elbow, and was initially diagnosed as having inflammation in the elbow. The plan at the time was to rest Storen for a few days and then have him resume throwing, but he ended up needing surgery to remove bone chips from the elbow and missed half the season. Every situation is different, obviously, and that in no way means that Fister is dealing with anything serious. Fister said that he wasn't concerned when he felt the discomfort in his elbow after his spring debut. "Not really," he said. "It's typical inflammation, so we're just kinda treating it day by day." The Nats acquired Fister this offseason in a trade with the Tigers. The right-hander went 14-9 with a 3.67 ERA for Detroit last season. Here are the Nationals lineups for both halves of today's split-squad games: At home vs. Braves: CF Denard Span SS Ian Desmond LF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche 2B Danny Espinosa C Jose Lobaton RF Eury Perez DH Chris Snyder LHP Ross Detwiler At Jupiter vs. Cardinals 2B Anthony Rendon SS Jamey Carroll CF Nate McLouth LF Scott Hairston 1B Tyler Moore 3B Will Rhymes DH Brock Peterson C Sandy Leon RF Steven Souza Jr. RHP Chris Young