Garcia feeling better

VIERA, Fla. -- Christian Garcia was back in the Nationals clubhouse this afternoon, 24 hours after the right-hander had to leave camp to have both his forearm and stomach tested by a doctor.

Garcia hasn't received final word on an MRI taken on his forearm, but he did get encouraging news on his stomach ailment: It's not appendicitis, a significant relief to the pitcher.

"I was thinking it could be, because I'd never felt anything like it," he said. "So it's definitely a relief it's not that. Because I would have had to miss a lot of time if it was that."

Garcia said his stomach felt much better today. So did his arm, though he did not participate in the morning workout after complaining of tightness in the area between his wrist and forearm yesterday, preventing him from throwing a scheduled session against live hitters.

The right-hander hoped to receive word on MRI results by the end of the day. Manager Davey Johnson hopes the pitcher could be back in action tomorrow if the injury is merely a bruise or minor strain.

Garcia, who twice had Tommy John surgery while in the Yankees organization, remains unconcerned about this latest issue being anything of significance.

"As long as it's not my elbow or shoulder," he said. "It's something that, at minimum, we can get it fixed, in a short amount of time, too."

Other injury updates...

-- Wilson Ramos has been participating in full with his fellow catchers during workouts and will serve as the Nationals' designated hitter Sunday against the Marlins. Johnson said he plans to use Ramos as his DH every other day through the first week of Grapefruit League play, eventually giving him a chance to catch for the first time since tearing his ACL in May.

-- Henry Rodriguez, recovering from surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow, will throw his first bullpen session of the spring Sunday or Monday, according to Johnson.

-- Ryan Zimmerman will take live batting practice on the field tomorrow for the first time since his offseason shoulder surgery.