Washington Nationals veteran infielder Howie Kendrick injured his hamstring yesterday during a Spring Training game vs. the Boston Red Sox.
Injuries are always a teams worst fear of any Major League Baseball team during Spring Training, and on Tuesday the Washington Nationals were the victim of the injury bug.
Howie Kendrick, the team’s veteran backup utility man, is once again faced to deal with an injury as he hurt his hamstring running out a groundball.
Kendrick came up limping while running the ball out and was forced to be pinch ran for right after. Nationals manager Davey Martinez and Kendrick himself confirmed he would have an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of the injury. (Tweet Via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post)
Dave Martinez echoed Kendrick that he will likely have an MRI tomorrow to see what the damage is. Martinez felt relieved that it wasn’t Kendrick’s Achilles’ (which he tore last May). https://t.co/4p5MtnfZ72
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) March 5, 2019
The good news for Washington is that the injury was not Kendrick’s Achilles’ which he tore last May forcing him to miss the entire rest of the 2018 year. Nonetheless, this injury is a big deal for the Nationals, and Kendrick may not be ready to go for the start of the season.
Kendrick will play a big role on the Washington bench this season, serving as the primary backup infielder at second, and can play left and first base as well. Last season before his injury the Nationals bench was playing at a much higher level than once he left, showing how big of a piece he is to this team. Kendrick also brings veteran savvy and a left-hand killing bat to add with it.
Tomorrow will be a big day for the Nationals and Kendrick as they hope to find out the extent of his injury and how long it may keep him out. If he will be out for an extended period of time, the Washington Nationals bench competition just got a whole lot more interesting.