Nationals Journal

Marquis undergoes surgery on elbow

Jason Marquis underwent surgery Friday to remove bone chips from his elbow and is expected to return to the major leagues in eight weeks, General Manager Mike Rizzo said.

Marquis pitched Tuesday in a minor league rehab assignment and the next day felt his elbow "locked up," he said. Tim Kremcheck performed Friday's surgery. Marquis will start rehab immediately, and in four to six weeks he will be able to begin throwing in minor league rehab games.

The Nationals signed Marquis during the offseason to a two-year, $15 million contract, and the start to his Nationals tenure was nothing less than a disaster. He went 0-3 with a 20.52 ERA in three starts, but the injury made the Nationals believe his dismal results were because of his health.

"Hopefully he's back helping the Nationals win some games," Rizzo said. "I'm a big track record guy. I always believe he's going to revert back to what he's always been. This just kind of verified that.

"In a couple months, he comes back, it's like making a trade. You get, at the trade deadline, a guy that pitched in the All-Star Game last year. I think it'll be a big boost for the club."

Lannan set for next start

Still miffed at his elbow tendon tightening in the fifth inning Thursday night, starting pitcher John Lannan remains on pace to make his next regularly scheduled start on Tuesday. Lannan played catch Friday and his flexor tendon responded well enough that he'll throw his usual bullpen session tomorrow.

"It feels fine," Lannan said. "It just tightened up. It feels better today than it did last night, which is good. It just sucks that that happened. Hopefully with the warmer weather, it won't happen again."

Lannan said his injury, even at its worst, does not require surgery. Lannan said his "mind was racing" trying to figure out why his elbow stiffened in the fifth inning Thursday night.

He did not want to make excuses, but the conditions were awful for a pitcher. He had not pitched in 10 days. It was rainy and cold. The Nationals sent seven men to the plate and scored four runs the previous inning, making for a long layoff.

Before the fifth, Lannan had shut out the Rockies while allowing two hits and two walks. In the fifth, he walked two and allowed four hits, leading to four runs.

"I'm concerned about everything," Lannan said. "I'm concerned about my health. I'm not concerned, but it's like, I got to get better. I don't know what is.

"I'm not worried about what happened yesterday. It just sucks that it had to happen."

The conditions, certainly, played a major factor. Rizzo blamed them, and Lannan assumes the heat and humidity of Washington will help make it a non-issue.

-- Adam Kilgore