Rainey (elbow) threw 19 pitches in a rehab appearance for Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday as he closes in on his return from Tommy John surgery, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

EDGE Analysis

The right-hander will pitch in another rehab game later this week, but Nationals manager Dave Martinez indicated Rainey will need to show he can work back-to-back games before he'll be activated from the 60-day IL, which could push his return to early September. He did record 12 saves in 2022 before undergoing surgery that August, but Rainey will likely slot into a lower-leverage role behind Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey once he's activated.