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28-year-old Washington Nationals' right-hander Ryan Mattheus told reporters on Monday that he'd felt discomfort in his left foot while running at Citizens Bank Park before last night's game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The foot was reportedly bothering Mattheus for several weeks. Nats' skipper Davey Johnson was quoted in an article by the Washington Times' Amanda Comak entitled, "Mattheus dealing with left foot injury, Lidge to throw bullpen & other injury updates", explaining that he didn't, "... know if it's a sprain," but, "[Mattheus has] had something bothering him with his plantar fasciitis, but he thinks it's maybe just something broke up in there.'" The reliever received an MRI and was supposed to visit a specialist in Baltimore this morning. According to a report this afternoon by WTOP's Craig Heist, the former Rockies' prospect acquired in a July '09 trade that sent Joe Beimel to Colorado, will be placed on the DL with Chien-Ming Wang returning to the majors:
The #Nats will put Ryan Mattheus on the DL with plantar Fasciitis and reinstate Chien-Ming Wang from the DL according to a baseball source.
— Craig Heist (@cheistWTOP) May 22, 2012
Mattheus is (2-1) in 19 games so far this season with a 2.25 ERA, 3.51 FIP, 7 BB (3.15 BB/9) and 13 K's (5.85 K/9) in 20.0 IP this season. Davey Johnson told reporters this weekend that he'd probably move Chien-Ming Wang to the bullpen when he returned from a rehab assignment. The 32-year-old sinker-balling right-hander suffered a hamstring injury at the end of Spring Training. In 5 starts and 30.2 IP at Potomac, Hagerstown and Syracuse in the Nats' system, Wang was (3-0) with a 3.52 ERA, six walks and 18 K's. Though the Nats' skipper said he saw Wang as a major league-caliber starter, he explained that he believed 26-year-old Ross Detwiler had pitched himself into a role in the Nationals' rotation.
• More info when it's available, or when the Nationals confirm the rumored move...