Nationals activate Anthony Rendon and recall A.J. Cole

After missing the first two months of the season due to an MCL sprain and an oblique injury, Anthony Rendon has been activated by the Nationals, and will make his season debut today.

Rendon has played all of his rehab games at second base and that's where he's expected to play with Nats.

— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) June 4, 2015

Rendon was incredibly valuable for Washington last season, posting a wOBA of .361, a wRC+ of 130, and an fWAR of 6.5. While he played 84.1 percent of his games at third base last year, he'll be playing second at least for the immediate future. Rendon played in five rehab games with AA Harrisburg, and was at second base for every inning he spent in the field. Yunel Escobar will remain at third base for the time being, where's he's proved himself adept.

The Nationals have scored 233 runs this season while they've given up 227. Their pythagorean record stands at 27-26, rather than their actual record of 29-24. If healthy, Rendon should provide an immediate boost to the lineup, and help Washington achieve their goal of making a deep October run.

Washington also recalled their sixth ranked prospect, right-handed pitcher A.J. Cole. He's made one start this season along with two other appearances, and despite an ugly ERA of 5.79, he seems to have just run into some awful luck. The culprit seems to be his BABIP of .381, as his FIP stands at 2.90, while his SIERA is 3.16; and suggests he's pitched much better than his ERA would have people believe.

Unless the next few games get out of hand, and their starters get knocked around, it appears as if Cole will start for the Nationals this Saturday against the Cubs. To make room for Rendon and Cole, Washington optioned Taylor Jordan to AAA Syracuse, and Wilmer Difo to Harrisburg.