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Washington Nationals: Wilson Ramos Tears ACL; Out For Season

By Matt Weyrich

Sep 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (40) is looked at by the team trainer Paul Lessard and relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit (52) and manager Dusty Baker (12) after suffering an apparent right knee injury during the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (40) is looked at by the team trainer Paul Lessard and relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit (52) and manager Dusty Baker (12) after suffering an apparent right knee injury during the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos has torn his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.

As if the Washington Nationals didn’t already have enough injury concerns on their hands, things just got a whole lot worse in the nation’s capital. All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after landing awkwardly trying to catch an errant throw from Ryan Zimmerman during the sixth inning of Monday’s 14-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Ramos, who is set to hit free agency this winter after playing the best baseball of his career this season, will miss the rest of the season and the entire playoffs with the injury. With Stephen Strasburg probably unavailable for the NLDS and sluggers Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy’s statuses uncertain, the last thing Washington needed was another injury to add to the list.

The Venezuelan native was in the midst of a breakout season. His .307 batting average, 22 home runs, and 80 RBIs all ranked within the top three of all MLB catchers. Although he won’t be playing the last week of the season, Ramos will still be a strong candidate for his first career Silver Slugger.

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Moving forward, the Nationals are not in a good position to fill Ramos’ spot in the lineup. Backup catcher Jose Lobaton has a .220/.317/.363 slash line with six extra-base hits in 91 at-bats this season. Rookie backstop Pedro Severino has impressed in the short time that he has spent at the big league level (.350/.480/.550 in 20 at-bats), but is very inexperienced and has always been a defense-first catcher.

Even if Murphy and Harper make it back in time to play in the NLDS, the Nats lineup is already thin. Behind Anthony Rendon, who bats fifth in their usual lineup, Ryan Zimmerman and Danny Espinosa will join whichever catcher Dusty Baker goes with at the bottom of the order. The two have combined for a .214 batting average and an eye-popping 273 strikeouts this season.

Next: Brian Goodwin Stepping Up in September

Slated to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round of the postseason, the Nats are going to need every bit of help on offense that they can get if they’re going to put up a fight against the likes of Clayton Kershaw and Kenta Maeda. Without Ramos, that uphill battle has only gotten steeper. It’s going to take contributions from all over the diamond if the Nats are going come out of that series on top.

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