Strasburg close to bullpen session, plus Zimmerman news

PHILADELPHIA - Stephen Strasburg continues progress in his return from a shoulder injury and appears to be a few days away from throwing off a mound for the first time since landing on the disabled list.

Strasburg, three weeks removed from his last outing for the Nationals, threw pitches off flat ground in the outfield at Citizens Bank Park this afternoon, ramping up from the simple game of catch he played last weekend.

Next up for Strasburg would be a bullpen session, which Davey Martinez suggested could come before the team leaves Philadelphia.

"He hasn't thrown a bullpen yet, but he's progressing," Martinez said. "Hopefully by the end of this week, he might be throwing one."

The Nationals never offered any timetable, firm or vague, for Strasburg to return from what the club has called "right shoulder inflammation." The pitcher, though, was back on the field throwing within two weeks of his placement on the DL, an encouraging sign. And his progression since then suggests he's on track to return in a matter of weeks instead of months, barring any setbacks, of course.

Strasburg may remain a few weeks from returning, but the Nationals expect to have their other injured veteran starter back this weekend. Jeremy Hellickson, out since straining his right hamstring June 3, is with the club in Philadelphia and is on track to start Saturday night against the Phillies. The club hasn't announced its starter for that game yet, but rookie Jefry Rodriguez (who was holding down that spot in the rotation) was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse earlier this week.

The Nationals' weekend rotation plan has Tanner Roark starting tonight, Erick Fedde on Friday, Hellickson on Saturday and Gio Gonzalez on Sunday. They could have elected to bring Max Scherzer, who suffered a tough-luck 1-0 loss to the Rays on Tuesday, back for Sunday's series finale against the Phillies, but decided not to do that with their ace at this point in the season.

"You know, we thought about it, but we thought: Keep him on (schedule)," Martinez said. "Keeping him on his regular routine would be good. I think the pitchers we have match up really well with them. We don't want to overuse Max, because we definitely need him moving forward."

Meanwhile, Ryan Zimmerman is with the club and working out but could be ready to begin a rehab assignment in a few days.

Zimmerman, on the DL with a right oblique strain since May 12, has suggested he doesn't need to rehab with a minor league club, but Martinez seems to believe it's necessary before the veteran first baseman is activated.

"We talked a little bit about it," Martinez said. "We want to make sure that he's doing everything full activity. And then possibly, maybe Monday do something. But I'm going to get together with him this weekend and see where he's at."