Davey thinks half-dozen likely called up in September

Nationals manager Davey Johnson commented on the upcoming roster expansion, which will occur in about 10 days with September call-ups. Johnson said he looked forward to calling up players last year and that need is not as urgent this season. "I really was last year, much more so than this year," Johnson said. "I don't know how many we had last year, but we couldn't have had that many." Johnson believes there could be close to a half-dozen summoned to help shore up the roster for the September stretch drive. "This year we will probably have about five or six," Johnson said. "The majority of them, if not all of them, would have been here. Maybe one exception, but we had him in the spring." Likely pitchers include John Lannan and Chien-Ming Wang. Yunesky Maya is a good candidate as he has had some good outings at Triple-A Syracuse. Ryan Perry has done an outstanding job at Double-A Harrisburg as a converted reliever. He began the season with the Nationals. Chris Marrero does not appear to be healthy enough from his hamstring to come back. Carlos Rivero is a top five hitter in the International League and would be a very intriguing option. He is out of options so it would also be a big showcase opportunity for him. If Johnson's quote holds true, that would mean Anthony Rendon would not be called up. Johnson had said recently that he loves Rendon's right-hand bat, but that the prospect needs more at-bats. Outfielder Eury Perez is also an option but the more likely is Corey Brown, who made a big splash in his debut in New York and Milwaukee earlier this season.