Astacio’s injury isn’t too serious

NEW YORK — Pitcher Pedro Astacio has a right forearm flexor strain, a minor injury that should only keep him out five to seven days.

An MRI taken on Astacio’s right forearm Saturday night in Washington confirmed the injury wasn’t serious. Club orthopedist Ben Shaffer will re-evaluate Astacio in about a week, at which time he is expected to resume a throwing program.

Astacio was penciled in as the No.3 starter in the rotation. That means hard-throwing right-hander Ramon Ortiz will be bumped up to the third slot behind Livan Hernandez and John Patterson and pitch Thursday afternoon against New York Mets ace Pedro Martinez at Shea Stadium.

“You guys [media] put numbers on them. I don’t put numbers on them,” Nationals manager Frank Robinson said. “We have five starters today. [Ortiz] will be moved up behind Patterson for the third start. That’s the way I’ll put it. It’s the same difference. I don’t like to put numbers on guys.”

Astacio pulled himself before the third inning from Saturday’s exhibition against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards complaining of forearm tightness. The club placed Astacio on the 15-day disabled list that night and recalled right-handed reliever Jason Bergmann from Class AAA New Orleans.

Bergmann, who started one game last season for the Nationals, has not been informed what his role will be with Astacio is out.

“They just told me to come here and pitch. That’s fine with me,” Bergmann said. “They haven’t told me anything at all. As far as I know, I’m just here for whatever role they have for me is what I’ll accept.”

The Nationals won’t need a fifth starter until next week in Houston because of tomorrow’s off-day. However, Robinson did rule out tall right-hander Jon Rauch as a candidate.

“I just prefer to keep him in the role [of long reliever] that set him up towards the end of spring training,” Robinson said. “I’d rather let him stay there rather than letting him bounce around and let him settle into the bullpen right now. If [Astacio’s injury] was considered a long-term thing, I would certainly have seriously considered him for that position.”

The most likely candidate to be the fifth starter is injured reliever Ryan Drese. Drese, who had shoulder surgery in the offseason, is on the 15-day disabled list but is eligible to come off Saturday. Drese was scheduled to throw 75 pitches in a minor league game yesterday at the Nationals’ Viera, Fla., spring training complex.

“We would prefer him to do one more, but if he’s out of that one and everything is fine, that would be close enough for him to go five or six innings,” Robinson said.

Playing left field

For the first time, Alfonso Soriano admitted yesterday playing left field is harder than he imagined. The four-time All-Star second baseman said he is having problems tracking balls off left-handed hitters and going back on balls.

The Nationals are trying to convert Soriano into a reliable outfielder, but that transformation has been shaky at best. Soriano has struggled judging fly balls this spring, either letting balls drop in or having drives sail over his head.

“Yes, it’s very hard, especially when people think it’s very easy to catch fly balls,” Soriano said.

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