Vargas swinging, Dickerson not running yet, Hernandez released

One week after landing on the injured list with a left shoulder strain, Ildemaro Vargas was able to begin taking swings, and the Nationals utilityman is aiming for a return next week when the team is in New York.

Vargas jammed his left shoulder April 9 making a diving catch of a sharp grounder in Colorado. He finished out the game but hasn’t played since and was placed on the 10-day IL on April 11.

The 31-year-old was able to begin taking swings in the cage today, though, and he will likely attempt to take a full round of batting practice on the field Wednesday afternoon.

“He actually said he felt really good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “So that’s encouraging. The next step will be to get him on the field.”

Swinging appears to be less of a concern for Vargas than fielding will be. After getting hurt, he mentioned the trouble he had reaching to catch throws and struggling to raise his left arm above his head.

“We want to make sure we’re cautious strength-wise,” Martinez said. “He’s doing all the strengthening. He feels good. I watched him hit in the cage, and he did some soft toss, some tee work. He swung the bat well. We cut him off after a certain amount of swings, so we’ll build off that. But the range-of-motion thing, fielding, I think will be the key to getting him back.”

Vargas, along with outfielder Corey Dickerson (calf strain), are scheduled to travel with the Nationals on their upcoming trip to Minnesota and New York, unless either is ready for game action. In that event, they would be sent on a minor league rehab assignment before coming off the IL.

Dickerson, who has been hurt since the season’s second game, will begin agility drills this week and progress up to the point where he can start running again.

The Nats have struggled to find playing time for both injured players’ roster replacements. Stone Garrett, who was called up from Triple-A Rochester when Dickerson got hurt, has been in the lineup four times since but is back as the starting left fielder tonight.

Jeter Downs, who was called up from Rochester one week ago to replace Vargas, has yet to see any game action. The 24-year-old infielder isn’t likely to be used with any regularity given the presence of Luis Garcia and CJ Abrams in the lineup and Michael Chavis as another reserve infielder.

That’s not necessarily great for Downs’ development. Club officials talked all spring about the need to get the former Red Sox and Dodgers prospect as much playing time as possible to help him rediscover his swing, which is why he opened the season at Triple-A. Now he’s stuck on the major league bench, needed in case of emergency but otherwise left to watch from afar.

“It’s very tricky,” Martinez said. “Unfortunately, the guy in front of him (Abrams) is a very young guy as well. He’s got to play every day, and he’s playing well. I talked to (Downs) and told him to try to stay ready. You never know in this game. But I feel like he is a guy who probably needs to go play every day. He’s got a lot of upside; that’s why we like him. But he’s just got to hang in there right now and wait his turn, and learn.”

* Yadiel Hernandez was released by Rochester today, clearing space on the Red Wings’ active roster for fellow outfielder Derek Hill, who returned from a hamstring strain suffered in spring training.

Hernandez was a semi-regular member of the Nationals lineup the last two seasons; in 644 total big league plate appearances with them, he hit .267/.315/.412 with 27 doubles, 19 homers and 79 RBIs. The 35-year-old was dropped from the 40-man roster over the winter, though, and spent the spring as a non-roster invitee to big league camp before getting sent down.

In 10 games with Rochester to begin the season, Hernandez was hitting .205/.225/.256 with two doubles and four RBIs.