After more than seven weeks on the disabled list, Ryan Zimmerman has been reinstated today, opening the door for him to return to the Nationals lineup and play left field for the first time in his major league career.
Tyler Moore was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Zimmerman on the roster.
Zimmerman hit .364 with a .405 on-base percentage and .636 slugging percentage in the first 10 games of the season, before fracturing his right thumb when diving back into second base during a game against the Braves.
The standard time frame for players to come back from that type of injury is 4-6 weeks, but it took slightly longer than that for Zimmerman's thumb to heal sufficiently enough for him to head on a rehab assignment and be cleared to return to the Nationals.
Zimmerman played the last four days at high Single-A Potomac, going 5-for-14. He served as the designated hitter his first game at Potomac, then played 21 straight innings in left field, progressing from five innings on Saturday to seven on Sunday to a full nine last night.
There weren't as many chances for Zimmerman in left as the Nats would have liked during this time, but he showed that his thumb is healthy, and as a guy who has never needed many at-bats to get game-ready, Zimmerman is now back with the Nats.
He's been written in as the Nationals left fielder and will bat fifth tonight in the series opener against the Phillies.
Moore has hit .214 (15-for-70) with the Nationals this season, with three homers, two doubles and 11 RBIs.
For the Phillies
SS Jimmy Rollins
2B Chase Utley
RF Marlon Byrd
1B Ryan Howard
C Carlos Ruiz
LF Domonic Brown
3B Reid Brignac
CF Ben Revere
RHP David Buchanan
For the Nationals
CF Denard Span
3B Anthony Rendon
RF Jayson Werth
1B Adam LaRoche
LF Ryan Zimmerman
C Wilson Ramos
SS Ian Desmond
2B Danny Espinosa
RHP Jordan Zimmermann
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