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Nationals place Chris Heisey on disabled list with a biceps rupture

Chris Heisey was placed on the disabled list Wednesday. (Kevin Liles/Getty Images)

About 70 minutes before the start of their game against the Mariners on Wednesday night, the Nationals announced they had placed outfielder Chris Heisey on the 10-day disabled list with a right biceps rupture and called up outfielder Brian Goodwin to take his roster spot. The announcement didn’t include a timetable for Heisey’s recovery.

Heisey was seen in the clubhouse and out on the field at Nationals Park on Wednesday without any obvious signs of an arm injury before the announcement was made. It’s the second time this month that the Nationals put a player on the disabled list minutes before a game started; they did the same with right-hander Shawn Kelley, who was placed on the disabled list May 6 with a lower back strain after playing catch.

The 32-year-old Heisey is batting .180 with a home run and a .393 OPS in 50 plate appearances this season. Regarded as a pinch-hitting specialist, Heisey is 0 for 14 with a walk as a pinch-hitter this season. Goodwin, 26, returns to the Nationals a day after he was optioned to Class AAA Syracuse to make room on the roster for Joe Ross. He is batting .188 with a .548 OPS in 17 plate appearances this season.

Nationals move up Thursday’s game vs. Seattle due to inclement weather

While Heisey heads to the disabled list, a couple Nationals are progressing toward coming off it. Late Wednesday night, after the Nationals throttled the Mariners to begin a six-game homestand, Sammy Solis was packing his things at his locker in that home clubhouse. He was off to the Nationals’ complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Wednesday to take the next step in his recovery from nerve damage in his left elbow.

“This will be like his spring training,” Nationals Manager Dusty Baker said.

Baker said Solis has been throwing “the last three or four days” and will be under constant supervision while in Florida. The left-hander eventually will pitch in games, which he hasn’t done since his last outing with the Nationals on April 18. The 28-year-old Solis had a 8.31 ERA when he was sidelined, but the Nationals’ beleaguered bullpen could use a left-hander that has proved effective against both lefties and righties. Baker explained that has forced him to play matchups more and put other relievers in high-pressure situations he otherwise wouldn’t.

“Sammy was big in our equation,” Baker said.

Solis joins Stephen Drew to rehab in Florida. Drew has been on the disabled list since April 12 with a strained right hamstring. Joe Blanton is still with the Nationals, but Baker said he wasn’t sure when Blanton, who resumed throwing recently, would return after being placed on the disabled list May 17 with right shoulder inflammation. The manager said he talked to Blanton on Tuesday for the first time since he was sidelined and believes the earliest he will return is late in their upcoming West Coast road trip

“We’re going to take our time and make sure he’s right too,” Baker said. “It just depends on how he looks to Mike, how he feels to himself. And how he responds to treatment.”

MARINERS
Jean Segura SS
Kyle Seager 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Danny Valencia 1B
Ben Gamel RF
Guillermo Heredia LF
Mike Zunino C
Jarrod Dyson CF
Sam Gavigllo RHP

NATIONALS
Trea Turner SS
Jayson Werth LF
Bryce Harper RF
Ryan Zimmerman 1B
Daniel Murphy 2B
Anthony Rendon 3B
Matt Wieters C
Michael A. Taylor CF
Tanner Roark RHP

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