Tomas Nido took a half-step back while Omar Narvaez is nearly ready to take a step forward.
Nido was hit in the hand during a minor league game on Friday.
While X-rays were negative, “he was pretty sore,” manager Buck Showalter said, which prompted Nido to serve as Class-A St. Lucie’s designated hitter Saturday and Sunday.
Nido, on the injured list with dry eye syndrome, has gone 2-for-11 with a home run in three rehab games with improved vision, the manager said.
Showalter said he does not yet have a sense of how long Nido’s rehab assignment will last.
“It’s going to be based on feedback from him and the timing of it,” Showalter said of Nido, whose big-league spot may be in jeopardy with the rise of Francisco Alvarez, the recent call-up of Gary Sanchez and the impending return of Narvaez.
Narvaez, who has been sidelined since April 5 with a left calf strain, is set to begin a rehab assignment Thursday or Friday, Showalter said.
With a theft of second base in the eighth inning of Game 1, Tommy Pham stole his 100th career base. He is one of 21 active players with at least 100 homers and at least 100 steals.
Jeff McNeil’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning of the nightcap represented his eighth career go-ahead RBI in the eighth inning or later.
On Saturday, Jose Quintana (left rib fracture) threw his first bullpen session since early March, when he sustained the injury, which also included a lesion on his rib that doctors found to be benign.
“He was real excited about it,” Showalter said of Quintana, who could join the rotation in early July. “Velocity was very encouraging.”
Lefty Josh Walker, who was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Friday, was recalled as the 27th man for the doubleheader. Walker was not used.
“Didn’t quite get on the plane,” Showalter said, with a touch of exaggeration. “Grabbed him at the airport.”