Jordan won't let offseason injury get in his way

VIERA, Fla. -- After working out at the Nationals' team complex on Tuesday morning, right-hander Taylor Jordan revealed that he'd broken his right ankle during the offseason, but that will not stop him from competing for the fifth spot in the rotation. In fact, he had a bullpen session on Tuesday.

"I feel pretty decent right now," said Jordan, who wants to add more muscle to his frame. "I was worried that I wasn't going to have enough time to get into the shape that I wanted to be."

Jordan broke the ankle in a freak accident while coming out of a swimming pool and was in a cast for a month.

"My foot came out from under when I took a step. I sat on it and broke it," he said. "This offseason was the worst one in my life. So it was very hard, considering I had to stay in shape. I had to watch my diet so I didn't lose too much [weight]. Right now, I'm actually a little skinnier than I want to be. I'm strong, but I want more muscle."

Manager Matt Williams said that the team plans to monitor Jordan closely this spring.

"He looks fine. We have to make sure that his ankle is 100 percent, because going into Spring Training, we want him to feel right," Williams said. "We certainly don't want the ankle affecting his arm. Right now, he feels good. We'll monitor him as he goes through the drills. If your ankle is sore, it can affect everything. We will monitor him closely."

Jordan's 2013 season came to an end on Aug. 16 after he'd pitched six solid innings against the Braves. On an innings limit after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2011, he pitched a combined 142 innings in the Major and Minor Leagues, won 10 games and had a 1.96 ERA.

"Everything went above and beyond what I was hoping for," Jordan said. "I wasn't expecting to make it to the big leagues last year. I was hoping to make an impact for a possibility to be there at the end of the year. I didn't expect to get there when I did."