Given the fact that their top two left fielders (Wily Mo Pena and Elijah Dukes) are both on the DL, the Nats are willing to think outside the box a little in search of a short-term replacement. So taking fly balls out in left field this evening during batting practice was none other than ... Felipe Lopez.

Yep. Manny Acta met with Lopez and asked if he'd be willing to give it a try. Lopez said yes, and Jim Bowden believes it could work out because of Felipe's athleticism.

"This is a guy that's always had good jumps and good angles on baseballs," Bowden said. "You see him on popups and fly balls. He's always been one of our better guys on that. I think you could put Felipe at second, short, third, right, center, left and I think he could play any of those positions."

Now, I wouldn't expect to see Lopez starting in left field in the next day or two. But it's definitely something worth watching.

It may become a moot point if Pena returns from the DL soon, which is what the club now expects. Pena took dry swings off a tee today in Viera and may not be far off. Which would be a good thing, since it appears Dukes' hamstring injury may be more serious than originally thought.

"I think Pena's going to be back sooner than we expected, and I think Dukes is going to be longer than we expect," Bowden said.

Meanwhile, in starting rotation news, Acta said he will not ask Tim Redding and Jason Bergmann to come back on short rest over the weekend, so Sunday's starter against the Cardinals is TBA. It could be a reliever like Joel Hanrahan, but Bowden indicated it's more likely to be John Lannan. That would make more sense, especially if (as Bowden also pointed out) Shawn Hill isn't ready by April 13. I know Hill's been shooting for that date all along, but the way Bowden spoke earlier, I don't know how realistic that's going to be.

"He's got to be stretched out," Bowden said. "That's why I can't put a timetable on it. I don't know how he's going to feel. That forearm has bothered him off and on the entire spring. I don't have high expectations until I see six innings, seven innings in Triple-A. He hasn't even been put on a rehab assignment yet. I don't have a timeframe on him yet."

Finally, Chad Cordero will have one more day of rest before playing catch tomorrow. Cordero did say that his shoulder felt fine today while stretching, and he's hopeful he can be cleared to pitch for the weekend series in St. Louis.