Washington Nationals reinstate Wander Suero from IL; Davey Martinez gets oft-used reliever back...

Wander Suero went on the 10-Day IL with a left oblique strain back on April 18th, after he was injured in his 8th appearance in the Washington Nationals’ first 12 games this season.

“He said he doesn’t feel that bad,” manager Davey Martinez told reporters after the official announcement on the move to the IL for the 29-year-old righty, who put up a 1.42 ERA and .136/.240/.182 line against in 6 ¹⁄₃ IP before the injury.

“Typically when you can’t breathe it’s a severe strain, he said he’s feeling fine, with no pain, so hopefully with a stint on the IL and building him back up we’ll get him back as soon as possible,” Martinez said.

“It’s weird how these obliques are, you just never know, so we’ve got to make sure that he’s completely healthy.”

Suero ended up spending 24 days out of action before the Nationals announced today that they were reinstating the reliever in advance of the second of three with the Phillies in D.C.

Martinez told reporters yesterday that Suero was close after he threw an inning in a rehab appearance over the weekend with Triple-A Rochester.

“Wander is with us today,” he said on Tuesday.

“He’s going to get examined by the doctor. He’s going to go out there and get his workout and if everything goes well, we’ll see about maybe activating him either tomorrow or the next day.”

The return of Suero, Martinez said, was good news for the bullpen and the club in general.

“He knows how much I use him. Everybody knows that. So it’s good to have him, especially when he’s throwing the ball well,” Martinez added.

The fourth-year manager announced the move before it was official.

“We’re still working on some logistics, we’re going to activate him today, we’re just waiting to put it out,” he explained.

Martinez laughed when asked if Suero would be available today, considering how often he uses him when the righty is in the bullpen.

“I’m only laughing because, the first thing I told him, I said, ‘You know when the phone rings — ‘ He says, ‘I’ll be ready.’”

As for what they’ll be watching as he works his way back into the mix?

“I just want to make sure his mechanics are honed in. Like I said, he’s throwing the ball well.

“He’s got no limitations. We definitely don’t want him to throw 25-30 pitches, but he threw 24 the other day and he said he felt completely fine.”

In order to make room on the roster for Suero’s return, the Nationals optioned Paolo Espino to Triple-A Rochester.