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WASHINGTON -- Washington Nationals outfielder Jose Guillen was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained right hamstring.

Jose Guillen

Right Field Washington Nationals Profile

2006 SEASON STATISTICS GM HR RBI R OBP AVG 39 5 19 18 .252 .212

The injury has bothered Guillen for more than a week. He missed five games and then returned to play a full game Tuesday. He left after two innings Wednesday because of a scratched eye and departed after two innings Thursday after aggravating the hamstring while trying to run out an infield chopper.

Manager Frank Robinson said "it took a while" to convince Guillen that the DL was the best option. The move was retroactive to Friday.

"You feel for players. You can understand them wanting to try to play with injuries," Robinson said. "But there comes a time when it's best for them and for the ballclub for them to take time off and get this thing completely healed."

Guillen has endured a difficult year physically. He began spring training recuperating from offseason shoulder surgery and then injured his wrist during weight training. He also missed four games in April with a strained chest muscle.

Guillen is batting .212 with five home runs and 19 RBI. He is itless in his last eight at-bats and 1-for-21 in his last eight games. He will report to Melbourne, Fla., for rehabilitation with the team's training staff.

The Nationals also purchased the contract of outfielder Mike Vento from Triple-A New Orleans. The 28-year-old was leading the Pacific Coast League with a .375 average. His previous major-league experience came in two games with the New York Yankees last season.

Vento made his Nationals debut in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, playing right field in the ninth inning.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Vento, the team transferred right-hander Zach Day (right shoulder tendinitis) from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day list.

The team also announced that Day will have exploratory surgery on his shoulder next week, but Day said the surgery was not a certainty and that he would seek at least one other opinion.

"I'm just going to try to weigh what's the best option for me as far as my family, myself and everybody else," Day said.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press