Kelley activated off DL, Zimmerman expects to return Tuesday

SAN DIEGO - The Nationals have Shawn Kelley back in their bullpen tonight. And they expect to have Ryan Zimmerman back in their lineup Tuesday night.

Kelley was activated off the 10-day disabled list this afternoon, one day after completing a six-pitch rehab assignment for Single-A Potomac and only 14 days after he walked off the mound in San Francisco suffering from what some feared was a significant elbow injury.

Kelley, who twice has had Tommy John surgery in his career, was relieved to learn he only had another bout of nerve irritation in his elbow, something he has dealt with several times in the years since his return from ligament replacement surgery. He was back playing catch within days, back throwing off a bullpen mound within a week and back pitching in a game 13 days later.

That game came Sunday at Potomac, where Kelley started and needed only six pitches to complete a 1-2-3 top of the first.

Even in that brief appearance, the veteran right-hander tested his arm enough to believe he was good to return from the DL.

"The hitter's in the box, turn it up a notch. And it still feels fine," he said. "I was able to execute. I didn't feel any sensations. And the fact I'm back today, I'm glad I threw six pitches and not 20."

Indeed, Kelley's ability to be ready to pitch again tonight if needed played a role in the Nationals' decision to activate him now instead of waiting another day or two. And the fact they chose to drop a position player to clear a roster spot - outfielder Rafael Bautista was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse - underscored the confidence they have in Zimmerman being ready to return himself three days after he hurt his right side diving for a ball at first base.

Zimmerman, who was scratched from Saturday's lineup and then held out of Sunday's lineup, isn't starting tonight's series opener against the Padres either. The veteran first baseman, though, took batting practice and grounders with his teammates this afternoon and said he expects to be ready to play Tuesday.

"Today feels really, really good," Zimmerman said. "Two days ago, it was really sore. It was just multiple things. Yesterday was better than the day before, which was a good sign."

Manager Davey Martinez did send Zimmerman into the on-deck circle during the bottom of the ninth Sunday, only to pull him back and send Pedro Severino instead to the plate to pinch-hit with the bases loaded. (Severino drew a walk to bring the tying run home, moments before Wilmer Difo won the game with a walk-off single.)

Zimmerman should be available off the bench tonight if needed.

"We were just being careful," he said. "Take two or three days now and make sure everything's OK instead of trying to grind through and somehow you do something stupid and turn a two-day thing into a three- or four-week thing. That's definitely what we don't want."