PHILADELPHIA -- A few times over the past few weeks, Nationals closer Sean Doolittle has attempted to throw off the mound in the bullpen, but each time the stress reaction in his left foot bothered him too much to make significant progress.
But Doolittle's foot has improved during the past few days, and on Tuesday he finally lasted through an entire bullpen session without much discomfort -- the best he has felt since landing on the disabled list just before the All-Star break. The next step for Doolittle is to throw a simulated game Friday at Nationals Park.
"He's progressively getting better," manager Dave Martinez said. "He feels better. The ball's coming out pretty good now. So, just get him to face some hitters and we'll go from there."
The Nationals have been without Doolittle since July 10 (retroactive to July 7), just days before he was named to the National League All-Star team. In 35 appearances, he posted a 1.45 ERA and 0.536 WHIP with 49 strikeouts and three walks in 37 1/3 innings while converting 22 of his 23 save opportunities. Initially, he and the team believed he would not be sidelined for long, but the injury lingered and he has not pitched in the second half.
In Doolittle's absence -- which has coincided with other ill-timed injuries and a pair of reliever trades -- the Nats' bullpen has faltered, dropping from the fourth best relievers' ERA in the National League through the first half of the season to the fourth worst in the NL since the break.
"He's one of the best," Martinez said. "So knowing that you have him to close in the ninth inning is awesome. He's definitely missed."
Because he does not have an arm injury, Doolittle has been able to keep his arm active since landing on the DL, throwing off flat ground and testing himself on the mound a few times. Martinez believed Doolittle was likely to experience some discomfort in his foot for the rest of the year, but it had become manageable in the past few days and the team was confident he had not altered his mechanics in any way.
"He says he feels a lot better and it looked like it in the past few days," Martinez said.