Felix

Rodriguez

The curveball travels about 83 mph, a sharp contrast to his high-90s fastballs. Rodriguez’s name has come up in trade talks, as the Giants are looking to cut payroll. However, the team would be crazy to move him, especially since both Robb Nen and Tim Worrell have shoulder issues.

Alou thinks Rodriguez can be fixed, however. ''Every once in a while, he losses command of his fastball. That’s all I see wrong with him.’' Rodriguez is very capable of a second half like last season, but it’s not worth holding on to him to find out if he can do it.

Rodriguez will throw on the side today to see how he feels and whether he can pitch.

F-Rod struck out two batters, and needed only 10 pitches to close out the inning.

Rodriguez threw batting practice today. He could come off the DL before the end of next week.

Rodriguez gave up two hits and one earned run in the inning. He is expected to continue his rehab with an appearance for Triple-A New Orleans later this week.

Rodriguez hasn’t pitched since Friday. The DL could be a possibility for him if he’s not better by Saturday, as the Nationals will need to replace Zach Day in the rotation then.

As much as Rodriguez was used early on this season, it comes as no surprise that he’s hurting. He pitched on three straight days twice during the first two weeks, and he pitched an inning on four consecutive days in early May. Imagine how much Frank Robinson would have relied on him if he didn’t have a 6.85 ERA.

The Nationals won’t have him pick up a baseball until he is completely pain-free. Rodriguez hopes that should be in the next week or so.

Rodriguez has been out since May 20 with right shoulder tendinitis. It doesn’t look like he’ll be back before the start of August.