Juan Soto Good To Go:
Juan Soto returned to right field on Saturday, for the first time since April 19th, and showed no signs of an issue the left shoulder issue which landed him on the 10-Day IL on April 20th, though it wasn’t really tested with a long or rushed throw.
In Sunday’s series finale with the New York Yankees in the Bronx, Soto was back in there as the DH, but his manager said that it wasn’t a sign of any problems with the shoulder.
“No, we planned on it being that way,” Davey Martinez explained.
“We got him out there, he’s going to [DH today] because we can DH him. He’ll DH, have a day off tomorrow and then Tuesday be back out there.”
Now that he’s tested the shoulder in right some, and felt no ill effects, Martinez said that the 22-year-old slugger should be good to go in the outfield going forward, though they will, of course, make sure to monitor and build up the shoulder.
“We’re probably going to have to monitor him a little bit,” Martinez acknowledged.
“But hopefully — he’s getting stronger, I know his shoulder is getting stronger, he talks about it every day, he threw the ball well, he’s been throwing the ball well.
“He’s definitely got to still stay on a throwing program and maintenance on that shoulder, but I think we can get through this.
“He said he felt good today, so he’s going to DH and get his 4-5 at bats.”
Soto went 0 for 4 in the finale with the Yankees, but he said afterwards he felt fine in the field on Saturday, and should be good to go going forward.
“Throwing yesterday — they just want me to keep working on it,” Soto said, “and keep being ready and getting better and better every day. But I feel well. We’re going to see how I feel after the off day [Monday] and take the decision from there to see if I can play every day.”
Rehabbing Nationals Updates:
Wander Suero, on the IL since April 18th with a left oblique strain, traveled to Allentown, PA this weekend, to pitch in a game for the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate, Rochester’s Red Wings, who were taking on the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. IronPigs? One word? I’ll just ignore that. So, moving on...
Suero, 29, appeared in eight of the Nationals’ first 12 games before the injury, and they’re eager to have the right-hander back in the bullpen.
“Suero is going to pitch today. Rochester is in Lehigh Valley, so he’ll get an inning in today, and we’ll reevaluate tomorrow,” Martinez said on Saturday morning.
Suero got in his work in Allentown, starting the game and giving up a hit, a walk, and two runs, while striking out two batters in a 24-pitch, 13-strike appearance.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.
— Rochester Red Wings (@RocRedWings) May 9, 2021
Today we lost AND it rained. @FirestoneAuto Recap: https://t.co/ntzfOg6WBJ pic.twitter.com/lvMQJ9YN6B
Meanwhile, Stephen Strasburg, who went on the 10-Day IL on the 18th as well, retroactive to 4/15, remained with the team in New York as he waits to make another start in a sim game at home early this week.
“Strasburg is here, he’s going through his workouts, he’ll throw a sim game, hopefully get him up to 50 pitches, maybe three innings on Tuesday,” Martinez said.
While the manager talked recently about the benefits of having the injured players travel with the team, so they can keep eyes on them, Martinez said that they would get all they need in terms of reports and video of Suero’s first inning in competitive action since mid-April.
“We’re constantly always talking to those guys when we send them down, so our training staff will talk to the Triple-A training staff and make sure they know his routine, and then we’ll got out there and pitch, and I’ll get feedback from [Rochester manager] Matt Lecroy about how [Suero] did and what his thoughts were, and we’ll have videos of his pitching so [Pitching Coach Jim] Hickey and I can see what he’s done, see his mechanics, we’ll see what his velo was like and then we’ll go from there.”
Suero, for his part, was apparently not thrilled with the rehab assignment.
“He’s anxious to get back,” Martinez said with a laugh. “He ... didn’t want to go down, let’s put it that way. But we got to get him an inning or two and see how he does.”