Nationals' Mason Thompson: Cleared for rehab assignment

Thompson (knee) will head to Double-A Harrisburg later this week to begin a rehab assignment, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Thompson has been on the injured list since Aug. 5 due to a left knee contusion, so he'll likely require only one or two tune-up outings in the minors before getting cleared to rejoin the Nationals' bullpen. Though he's been one of the team's top setup options this season, he had struggled throughout July (9.00 ERA, 2.13 WHIP in eight innings) prior to landing on the shelf.