Zimmerman on board with Baker's timetable for first spring appearance

VIERA, Fla. - Ryan Zimmerman, who has yet to play in a spring training game while the Nationals medical staff monitors and treats the plantar fasciitis in his left foot, says manager Dusty Baker's timetable that the first baseman could make his first Grapefruit League appearance within another 10 days is on target.

"We're just being slow with it," Zimmerman said Thursday. "My foot feels fine. There's no reason to start playing games this early in March when we plan on playing games in September and October. I know what I need to get ready and there's no reason to play 25 games down here. That's just not intelligent."

Zimmerman said the team's medical staff has designed a plan, starting in the offseason and continuing in spring training, to try to determine what is causing the problem. As a result, he has taken a more cautious approach to spring training, hoping that he will be fit and able to play deep into the season without injury.

"You don't always just treat the area that's hurting," Zimmerman explained. "You treat the calf and other things round it. Something has to cause this to happen. So we're trying to identify what else is tight, whether it's on this (left) leg or the other leg. Your plantar fascia doesn't just start hurting; something else is happening to get you out of line and make that foot not neutral so that you're putting more stress on it. If you can't tell, I've become very educated on the foot, but you have to."

While he's been wearing orthotic inserts since last year, Zimmerman has been focusing on stretching and soft-tissue work with athletic trainers in between participating in most baseball activities. He's been hitting every day and taking ground balls regularly. The only thing Zimmerman isn't doing is a lot of running.

Even with the delay, Zimmerman said he can still get the 40-50 at-bats in spring games that he usually requires to prepare for the regular season.

He likes that the Nats and new manager Dusty Baker are taking a big-picture approach to an injury that could linger for a long time if not properly treated.

"That's kind of the plan that Dusty, the training staff, everyone has had in mind coming into spring training, which is nice," Zimmerman said. "When we think I'm ready to do something, take another two days and then do it."

Zimmerman would not discuss multiple published reports that Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard - who, like Zimmerman, was linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs through a now discredited Al Jazeera report - was meeting today with investigators from Major League Baseball.

When asked if he was meeting with investigators, Zimmerman said: "That would be a question for MLB, not me."

Both Zimmerman and Howard, who are both represented by the same agency, are suing Al Jazeera for defamation of character.

* Baker acknowledged that left-handed reliever Oliver Perez would leave the club to pitch for Mexico in the preliminary rounds to determine entrants in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Mexicali, Mexico, will host a preliminary round featuring Mexico, the Czech Republic, Germany and Nicaragua from March 17-20.

"They're in a tough situation where your countrymen are depending on you but we're depending on you, too," Baker said. "So what supersedes what? What's more important, our season or playing for your country? I urge them all to play for your country, just not pitch too many innings. Certain parameters - hopefully not consecutive days and not too many innings."

Right-hander Paolo Espino, who was reassigned to minor league camp Thursday, will play for his native Panama, Baker said. The Nationals chose not to release other players who had requested to play in ABC qualifiers, Baker added.