The Washington Nationals received devastating news earlier this week when an MRI revealed All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos suffered a torn ACL. Ramos’ injury put further strain on a Nationals team that’s currently without Daniel Murphy and Stephen Strasburg.
What’s more, reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper is bothered by a minor left thumb injury. With Ramos unavailable for the Nationals’ postseason run, the probability is they will also head into their NLDS matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers without the services of Strasburg as well.
As for Murphy, Nationals manager Dusty Baker has optimism the second baseman will recover from a buttocks injury in time for Game 1 of the NLDS on Friday, Oct. 7, per Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post:
“We’re shooting for him to be ready on the seventh,” said Baker, whose Nationals will play the Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Division Series that day. “He might get a pinch-hit, but I don’t want to take him backwards. We’ll probably have an intrasquad game or something to get him some live pitching.”
Murphy last started Sept. 17, and has been limited to a pair of pinch-hit opportunities since that point; both came in the two days after Murphy’s last start. He’s batting .347/.391/.596 this season, with 47 doubles, 25 home runs and 104 RBI.
The 31-year-old played himself into a three-year, $37.5 million contract with the Nationals behind a tremendous 2015 postseason with the New York Mets. Included in that was Murphy hitting a blistering .333/.333/.810 with one double, three home runs and five RBI against the Dodgers in the NLDS.
He was named MVP of the NL Championship Series, though cooled off considerably in the World Series. Even with his postseason experience to lean back on, Murphy may face some difficulty in adjusting to game-action just removed from an extended layoff.
