Lineup, outfield decisions for Martinez this weekend

TORONTO - A week's worth of games in American League ballparks is allowing Davey Martinez to ease Daniel Murphy into action as designated hitter, but it's also forcing the Nationals manager to sit one of his four healthy starting-caliber outfielders, creating daily lineup decisions.

With right-hander Aaron Sanchez starting for the Blue Jays in tonight's series opener at Rogers Centre, Martinez is sticking with the same arrangement that produced five runs against the Yankees on Wednesday. That means Juan Soto is in left field, Bryce Harper in center field, Adam Eaton in right field and Michael A. Taylor on the bench.

It's the second straight game Taylor has sat on the bench, but Martinez made sure to assure his .220-hitting outfielder this isn't a permanent move.

"I talked to him, and he gets it," Martinez said. "I told him: 'Don't read into anything. You're going to play.' I told them all: 'We've got some pretty good outfielders, but you're all going to get a chance to play. Just keep your heads up, and when I ask you to participate in a game, be ready.' Things change like that. And he understands that. Mike's a professional. But like I said, he's the best center fielder I've seen. And we need him out there."

Martinez is siding with offensive potential over defensive skills right now, trusting Harper to handle center field for the third time in a week and Eaton to handle the Rogers Centre artificial turf on his surgically repaired knee and ankle.

The Nationals may choose to take a cautious approach with Eaton this weekend and give him at least one day off to protect his legs.

"We'll see how he does today," Martinez said. "There is some thought about what I want to do in the next few days, but let's see how he does. He says he feels good. We'll see how he reacts after the game."

The outfield logjam could be solved if one of the four was used as DH on any given day, but that spot appears to be reserved for Murphy until the Nationals return home Monday, at which point they'll have no choice but to put the veteran at second base and hope his surgically repaired knee holds up.

"I talked to Murph today; I called him," Martinez said. "Cause he says he's ready to play the field. And I told him: 'Look, we had a plan going into this week, so let's stick to it. Let's see how you feel today after your day off yesterday, and then we'll go from there.'"

Regarding Monday's games against the Yankees, the resumption of the May 15 game that was suspended in the bottom of the sixth with the score tied 4-4 will begin at 5:05 p.m. The Nationals' roster has changed since then, but anybody on the current 25-man roster who has not been removed from the original game is eligible to play. Wander Suero technically remains the pitcher in the game.

The second game of the day, the makeup of the May 16 rainout, will begin 30 minutes after completion of the resumed suspended game, and the Nationals are allowed to call up a 26th man for that game. The club has not announced a starting pitcher yet, but it would either need to be Erick Fedde or another pitcher promoted from the minor leagues.

One more procedural note: Raudy Read, who is still serving his 80-game suspension for a positive test for a performance enhancing drug, has been assigned to Double-A Harrisburg for a rehab assignment. Suspended players are allowed to go on a 20-day rehab assignment - essentially their spring training - before they are activated when the suspension is completed.