Hellickson seems ready to return, but when will he pitch?

Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, who has been nursing a right wrist sprain since Aug. 16 and is on the 10-day disabled list, threw a simulated game Friday afternoon.

"Oh, it went good. Felt really good," Hellickson said. "Just trying to get out there and just see hitters in the box, really. Last time I went on the DL and came back for that minor league game, I was kind of all over the place. It was good to just see hitters and get out of the stretch a little bit."

One concern during his rehab has been an inability to throw his breaking pitches because of the wrist. Early in his rehab, Hellickson was just soft-tossing his curveball because the wrist was still sore. Now it sounds like all systems are go.

"Back to normal," Hellickson said of his curveball. "It's felt really good the last few bullpens and felt fine today. Really hadn't had any problems for a week or so."

Hellickson said his next step is to throw a bullpen session on Sunday. But there haven't been any dates set yet for when he will return to start a game.

"I think we kind of have six guys in the rotation right now," Hellickson said. "Hopefully, can get a few more, but it'd be nice to just get back out there and face hitters again before the year is over."

Manager Davey Martinez said the weekend is important because when Hellickson returns will be contingent not only on his health but also on how pitchers like Joe Ross and Erick Fedde fare tonight and Sunday.

"Well, we will see how he's doing tomorrow," Martinez said. "It's a conversation that we'll have to have. I haven't really sat down yet. I know we got days off, too. We'll see how Joe goes through today. We'll see how Fedde goes through on Sunday and then we'll go from there."

With the likes of starters Kyle McGowin, Jefry Rodriguez and Austin Voth around, the Nationals theoretically have at least a six-man rotation available for the final 24 days of the regular season. So would that hinder Hellickson's opportunities to get some innings down the stretch?

"We thought about it, but we want to keep all these guys on their regular days," Martinez said. "Obviously, (Max) Scherzer we don't want to move, so we'll see what happens after Sunday."