Zimmerman to DL with oblique strain, Reynolds called up (Nats win 2-1)

PHOENIX - The sore back that prevented Ryan Zimmerman from playing in five of the Nationals' last seven games has now landed him on the disabled list.

The Nationals placed Zimmerman on the 10-day DL today with what the club called a right oblique strain and purchased the contract of veteran slugger Mark Reynolds from Triple-A Syracuse to take his place and provide another right-handed bat off the bench (and quite possibly in the lineup).

Needing to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for Reynolds, the Nats transferred reliever Joaquin Benoit (who has been out since late March with a forearm strain) to the 60-day DL.

The decision to sideline Zimmerman for at least eight more days (the move is retroactive to May 10) came after the veteran first baseman was unable to come off the bench to pinch-hit either of the last two nights. Zimmerman, who said he hurt himself on recent dives at first base and slides into the plate, felt it made more sense to shut himself down now than risk dealing with the injury long-term.

"It was trending in the right direction, and then some of those dives kind of made it worse," he said. "It just got to the point where I couldn't sustain it for five months. I want to give it some time, get it better. I don't think it should be too long. But that dive made it a little bit worse. It was the smart thing to do."

Thus adds the latest chapter to what already has become a frustrating 2018 season for Zimmerman, on the heels of his bounceback All-Star 2017 campaign.

After making the decision to spend nearly the entire spring playing in minor league games in an attempt to keep his body fresher for the regular season, the 33-year-old has been unable to find a steady groove at the plate. Through 33 games, he's batting .217 with five homers, 16 RBIs and a .689 OPS.

"He was starting to swing the bat pretty good before this last injury," manager Davey Martinez said. "He's going to be fine. I say this all the time, but we're in May. We get him back in the next 10 days, and he goes off ... you know Zim, he can carry us for two months. I'm looking forward to him getting healthy and getting back on the field."

Matt Adams, who already had forced his way into the daily lineup with a torrid start to the month, will get even more playing time at first base in Zimmerman's absence. He'll be joined both at first base and in left field by Reynolds, the 34-year-old slugger who hit 30 homers for the Rockies last season yet found himself out of a job through the entire spring.

The Nationals signed Reynolds to a minor league contract after opening day and he reported to West Palm Beach for extended spring training. He debuted for Syracuse two weeks ago and was hitting .231 with one homer and four RBIs in 10 games for the Chiefs.

"After last year, I didn't envision myself being in extended and Triple-A," Reynolds said. "I know 10 years from now, I'd look back and be mad at myself if I didn't try. I wanted to sign with a contender. I was fortunate to have the Nationals reach out. Here we are."

Though this is Reynolds' first time in the Nationals clubhouse, he is surrounded by familiar faces. He came up with Max Scherzer in the Diamondbacks farm system. He played with Matt Wieters in Baltimore and Brandon Kintzler in Milwaukee. And, of course, he was Zimmerman's college teammate at Virginia and competed against him in high school (though he missed out being Sean Doolittle's teammate by one year).

"It's pretty cool," Reynolds said. "I'm sure UVA will use that in recruiting."

"It's pretty crazy," Zimmerman said. "And especially the track we've all taken to come here. We haven't been teammates for a long time. Doolittle has been 12 years or so, Mark's about the same. But it is pretty cool to have all of us here. It's fun for us."

Update: The Nationals have given themselves plenty of early scoring opportunities today, but so far they've managed only one run despite seven baserunners in three innings. Bryce Harper drove in that run, ripping a double down the right-field line to score Trea Turner. It's only Harper's fourth double of the season, but his second in his last six at-bats. The Nats could've tacked on after loading the bases with one out, but Andrew Stevenson and Michael A. Taylor struck out on a total of seven pitches. Stephen Strasburg, meanwhhile, got himself into a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first, with his fastball registering only 92-93 mph. But he got out of the jam, got his fastball back up to 95-96 mph and is starting to look like his normal self again.

Update II: Strasburg has settled into a nice groove since that semi-shaky first inning. He did give up an RBI double to A.J. Pollock in the bottom of the third but otherwise has held the Diamondbacks in check and is through five innings of one-run ball on 85 pitches. The Nats, meanwhile, continue to get chances but aren't converting many of them. The only other RBI they've delivered since Harper's third-inning double was a groundball to short by Anthony Rendon with the bases loaded in the top of the third. Nick Ahmed had to make a great diving stop of it, and Rendon beat the throw to first on the attempted 6-4-3 double play, bringing home a run to give the Nats a 2-1 lead.

Update III: It took some big outs from unlikely relievers (Sammy Solis, Shawn Kelley) and then a ninth inning save from Ryan Madson, but the Nats pulled off a 2-1 victory and now have a chance to go for a four-game sweep tomorrow night.