There doesn’t appear to be much left for Dylan Crews to do before he can begin a rehab assignment.
The Nationals’ rookie outfielder participated in all baseball activities this weekend without issue, the club said. That included ground balls, fly balls, full batting practice and baserunning, the first time he had done all of that since suffering a left oblique strain two months ago.
So, when will Crews begin playing in minor league games on a rehab assignment?
“When the trainers tell me that he’s ready to go and do the rehab,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “The good news is that he’s feeling good. He’s anxious. And he’s been doing everything they ask. We’ve just got to wait for the trainers to let us know.”
Aside from repeating the same drills he’s now been able to complete in recent days, there doesn’t appear to be anything else Crews can do that doesn’t include game situations. With all minor league teams off Mondays, there’s a chance the Nats will send him out to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday. Triple-A Rochester, Double-A Harrisburg and Single-A Fredericksburg are all playing at home this week, offering the club its choice of affiliates.
Given how much time he missed, Crews probably needs to play in more than a few rehab games before he’s activated off the 15-day injured list. He could theoretically start at one of the lower levels, then move up to a higher level to complete his rehab.
Not that there’s a definitive, direct correlation, but the Nationals went 22-23 with Crews in their lineup before he got hurt. They’ve gone 17-37 in games he hasn’t played.
“To me, he would be one of the leaders on the team,” Cairo said when asked how much the club has missed the 23-year-old. “He plays with energy. He wants to win. You can tell he’s coming from LSU, so he knows what it takes to win. He wants to be a part of the team. It’s hard when you’re on the IL and you feel like you’re not part of the team, or you’re off the team. He’s anxious, we just have to wait for the trainers to let us know.”
* Orlando Ribalta made two rehab appearances for Rochester over the weekend, tossing a scoreless inning both Friday and Sunday, the latter of which came in a perfect 1-2-3 inning of relief.
Ribalta, out since April 10 with a right biceps strain, could be close to coming off the 15-day IL, providing a potential boost to a bullpen that has been used a lot this season.
“The good news is, he pitched good, he’s feeling good,” Cairo said. “We’re just waiting to see what is the next move.”
* Keibert Ruiz played catch and hit over the weekend without any issues, an encouraging sign for the Nationals catcher as he attempts to once again return from the 7-day concussion IL.
Ruiz missed 10 days during his first IL stint after he was struck on the side of the head by a ricocheting foul ball in the visitors’ dugout in San Diego. In his second game back, he was struck in the facemask by another foul ball and had a recurrence of symptoms, prompting the Nats to place him back on the IL the following day. According to a club official, Ruiz was not diagnosed with a second concussion, but rather a reaggravation of the original one.
Ruiz has a follow-up appointment with doctors Tuesday, at which point the team will have a better idea of a timetable for his return.
* Jarlin Susana returned to the mound Sunday for the first time since the highly rated pitching prospect was shut down in early May with a Grade 1 UCL sprain in his elbow. The 21-year-old right-hander, who was pitching for Harrisburg prior to suffering the injury, tossed two innings for Wilmington on Sunday, allowing one run on two hits and two walks, totaling 34 pitches.