Zimmerman close to rehab stint; Rendon returns, Drew ailing

First baseman Ryan Zimmerman ended Wednesday's batting practice with another round of solid swings. That makes two days in a row that Zimmerman has taken part with full swings in BP.

Zimmerman is on the disabled list with a left ribcage strain. He was placed on the DL retroactive to July 7.

During pregame clubhouse availability prior to batting practice, Zimmerman talked about the importance of getting swings in before returning.

"It feels pretty good," Zimmerman said. "I think whenever you're coming back from anything, you're always a little cautious at first whether your 100 percent or not. I think that's the point of kind of getting out there and hitting and proving to yourself you can kind of let it go and everything's fine."

Nationals manager Dusty Baker said Zimmerman's next step is to go on a rehab assignment.

"The plan is for him to go out on a rehab assignment," Baker confirmed. "I've got to talk to him first about how long that I think is appropriate for him to get his timing, because you can't come back here and we don't expect him to be sharp, but maybe he will be. How much is enough?"

Zimmerman smiled when asked if rehab assignments are beneficial.

"Not really. Just wasting hits," Zimmerman said.

Baker was asked if a rehab assignment is longer based on how the player was hitting before he went on the DL.

"Not really. Because you were hot before, that don't mean you're going to be hot when you come back when you lost this time," Baker reasoned. "I've seen guys that were cold when they left but hot when they came back because they were able to clear their head. They were able to watch other guys."

Baker has told Sammy Solis, who is also on the DL, and Zimmerman to watch games from dugout and play along in their minds.

Third baseman Anthony Rendon is back in the lineup after missing two games with flu-like symptoms. But infielder Stephen Drew is still out because of the flu bug.

"Anthony said he's feeling better," Baker said. "He wants to play. I think he feels better than Stephen because he's had more time. He's trying to get some soup down. You can sort of tell the look on his face. He looks thin in the face. It doesn't take long to lose weight. Well, it takes a long time if you're not sick. If you're sick, it doesn't take long at all. You're not eating.

"He said he was dehydrated, he wasn't eating yesterday. We sent him home, and in baseball, you don't do that unless you're real sick."