Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos suffers torn ACL
The Washington Nationals are headed for the playoffs, but they’ve added another notable name to their injury list.
The Washington Nationals have the National League East sewn up, so it’s just a matter of having every one healthy for their first playoff series. Daniel Murphy (buttocks) and Stephen Strasburg (elbow) are on track to be ready for the postseason, and Bryce Harper (thumb) seems to have avoided a serious injury. But catcher Wilson Ramos jumped to catch a throw Monday night, and he was not so lucky.
Ramos is having a breakout season, with a .307/.354/.496 slash-line, 22 home runs and 80 RBI over 482 at-bats (131 games). Spencer Kieboom was called up from Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday to take Ramos’ place as the regular season winds down, but Jose Lobaton and Pedro Severino are far more likely to step in behind the plate once the postseason starts.
It’s a steep step down offensively from Ramos to Lobaton and/or Severino. Lobaton is hitting .220 with three home runs and six RBI over 35 games (91 at-bats) for the Nationals this year, and Severino is hitting .350 with one home run and three RBI over 20-bats with Washington thus far. The Nationals could look to trade for a catcher, but it wouldn’t do them any good since that player won’t be eligible for the postseason.
The talent-laden Nationals have annually underachieved in the playoffs, and Ramos’ absence dampens their chances to change that this year. But pitching typically wins the day in October, and if Strasburg returns, Washington has a top-notch starting rotation to help them make up for any offensive shortcomings.
The torn ACL also has personal ramifications for Ramos. He is slated to become a free agent this winter, and on the heels of his excellent 2016 he was in line for a nice payday. The Nationals had started negotiations about a contract extension, with Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reporting an initial offer in the range of three years for $30 million. That seemed like a low offer at the time, based on the market value for catchers that offer high level offense. But with questions about his health now, and the virtual certainty he misses Opening Day next year, Ramos will be hard-pressed to find much more than a one-year deal this offseason.
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