Martinez: Zimmerman likely to start rehab soon (updated)

Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who is on the injured list with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, went through full batting practice again Thursday. Between games of the Wednesday doubleheader against the Phillies, he ran the bases and simulated baserunning scenarios out of the box. He said his foot is making progress. Zimmerman has missed 46 games.

"It's getting better," Zimmerman said. "I'm starting to run. You just have to do it a few days in a row, get nothing (going wrong), no setbacks. That's kind of where we are at now.

"(We are) not rushing, I think. You want to get back and play, but at the same time you've come this far you want to make sure you get it right."

Zimmerman said he's not running laps in the outfield or working 45-minute treadmill sessions. Just quick burst work and running the bases from home to first and first base to third base.

"There's no reason to do a ton of running," Zimmerman said. "It's more just running the bases. I don't really steal bases or do much anyway, but if you're going to be out there playing you got to be able to at least score on a normal base hit if you are on second or go first to third. You might not have to be 100 percent on all that but you have to be able to do normal every day activities or you're not really helping the team."

Nationals manager Davey Martinez said if all goes well today and tomorrow, Zimmerman could head out to a minor league affiliate for rehab games over the weekend.

"I know he's going to run today and we will see how he feels today. Hopefully, we can get him out there this weekend," Martinez said.

Zimmerman never has loved those rehab assignments, but as a veteran, he understands that it is important to be healthy and able to stand out on the field for a full game before Martinez can trust he is back for good.

"I think the biggest thing with the rehab games is just getting on your feet for nine innings so that the first time you are out there for nine innings isn't here," Zimmerman said. "You can play some games and make sure it doesn't act up because once you're activated and once you're between those white lines, it's game on and it's more for Davey. You don't want to put him in a bad spot. If he's managing without him knowing if I have restrictions or without kind of knowing what's going to happen, it kind of puts him in a bad spot and that's not what you want to do."

What will be interesting for Martinez is when Zimmerman returns, when does he play? Matt Adams, Howie Kendrick and others are hitting well right now. But Zimmerman has the superior glove and historically has hit well in June and July.

"When he comes back, we will figure all that out," Martinez said. "The biggest thing is to keep Zim off the injured list when he comes back. We talked about him getting days off as well. I told him, Matty's got to play, Howie's got to play, Dozier's doing well now. But it's nice you have those kind of guys that can play, but also it helps out our bench tremendously."

* Martinez has not decided who start Sunday against the Braves at Nationals Park. He said the weather tonight could play a factor. But he likes right-hander Joe Ross as a potential starter in the series finale against the division frontrunners.

"The last outing, he pitched he pitched well," Martinez said of Ross. "His slider was very effective. Up to that point, his slider was not what they had hoped it to be. There he had a really good slider, his command was good. That's definitely encouraging.

"We want him to start. We want him to gradually extend his innings and get his pitch count up and have him become a starter."

Ross has won two starts in a row for the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies, going five innings in each of those starts against Iowa and Omaha and allowing only two earned runs combined and striking out six.

* Martinez also noted that infielder Adrián Sanchez has been working with bullpen coach Henry Blanco for the potential of being the third catcher for the Nationals in emergency situations. Martinez said Sanchez was open to the idea of contributing in any way with the Nats.

"Right now, he is out there (as a) catcher," Martinez said. "Somebody goes down, he's caught in the bullpen a few times, so he can help us in that way."

Update: The Double-A Harrisburg Senators announced on their Twitter feed that Zimmerman will begin his rehab assignment tomorrow night in Harrisburg against the Bowie Baysox.