Slaten strengthening arm as rehab from elbow injury continues

By Byron Kerr

Nationals

July 07, 2011, 3:05pm

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Nationals left-handed reliever Doug Slaten has been on the disabled list since June 4 with a left elbow injury. Recently, he has started throwing again. Slaten said he has been building up arm strength and throwing from short distances, but has yet to throw off the mound. "It is speeding up as of late," Slaten said. "So that is a good sign. "I am just throwing, building up arm strength again. I feel like it is there. I definitely need to build up some more strength. But getting on the mound is a different story." Slaten joked that this is his "extended All-Star break" and he will continue to throw every day. "Hopefully, it won't be more than a couple of weeks or so (before I throw off mound)," Slaten said. "I will be working through (the break next week). "I want to go faster, but it is new territory for me, I haven't had arm problems before. I stopped having issues with pain (in the elbow) about a week and a half ago. I have started building up some strength, doing some exercises, restructuring the way some things work in the shoulder."