WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 26: Wilson Ramos #40 of the Washington Nationals lies in pain after slipping on play at the plate in the fifth inning during a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park on September 26, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
The Washington Nationals’ pursuit of the team’s first World Series Championship was just delivered a major blow.
Wilson Ramos will miss the rest of the season with a torn right ACL, manager Dusty Baker announced Tuesday.
The catcher injured himself during Monday’s 14-4 home loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ramos awkwardly landed on his right knee while attempting to catch an errant throw. Upon landing, he fell to the ground and began clutching his knee, and was eventually helped off the field by team trainers.
“There’s never an opportune time,” Baker said. “This was the most inopportune time for this to happen.”
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The 29-year-old Venezuelan was having a very great season, batting .307 with 22 home runs and 80 RBI and had a .850 on-base plus slugging percentage over 131 games. Ramos suffered the same injury to the right knee in 2012. He is meeting with doctors to schedule a date for surgery.
Washington will now turn to Jose Lobaton and Pedro Severino as they close out the season and prepare for the playoffs.
“We’ll really miss his offense,” Baker said of Ramos. “I told him: ‘Hey man, you and Daniel Murphy, particularly you two guys carried us to this point. Now it’s up to some of the other guys to take us to the next level and then the next level after that.”
The Nationals currently hold the second-best record in the National League. Ramos is set to become a free agent after the season and could demand a big payday.
Washington has suffered several other injuries recently. Outfielder Bryce Harper is nursing an injured thumb, second baseman Murphy has a gluteral strain, and right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg has been out indefinitely with a right forearm strain.
Harper has denied reports that he’s injured, although that would explain why the reigning NL MVP has put up lackluster numbers this season.
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 26: Wilson Ramos #40 of the Washington Nationals lies in pain after slipping on play at the plate in the fifth inning during a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park on September 26, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
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