Nats activate Span from DL, option Souza to Triple-A

The Washington Nationals today recalled from rehab and reinstated outfielder Denard Span from the 7-Day Disabled List and optioned outfielder Steven Souza Jr. to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Span, 30, rejoins the Nationals after going 2-for-4 with two RBI, three runs, three walks and a stolen base in two rehab contests with Hagerstown of the Single-A South Atlantic League. Before colliding on the base paths with Dan Uggla on April 11 at Turner Field, Span hit .222 (8-for-36) with four extra-base hits (three doubles, triple), four RBI and one stolen bag in 10 with games with the Nationals. He was also 4-for-10 (.400) with runners in scoring position. The Nationals' Opening Day center fielder, Span is a .282 hitter with a .350 on-base percentage and 111 stolen bases in 752 career games spanning portions of seven big league seasons. Defensively, Span ranks second among active center fielders (min. 600 games) with a .900 zone rating and 2.77 putouts/9.0 innings. In his first Major League exposure, the 24 year-old Souza Jr. went 1-for-4 with a walk in five games. He collected his first big league hit, a hard single up the middle off Dan Jennings, on April 15 at Marlins Park.