The Washington Nationals wrapped up a series victory over the Minnesota Twins yesterday in dramatic fashion, as backstop Keibert Ruiz played hero ball to carry the home team to their first home series of the season. It was a big momentum gainer for the Nationals, who were on a getaway day with a 6-game road trip to Miami and Cincinnati coming up.
However, to say the Nationals were operating at full strength currently would be a bit of a stretch, as the team has been battling some nagging injuries early on this season at all levels of their organization. Their bullpen has been bit the hardest, but the injury bug has caught a couple other players as well that we now have some updates on.
Luis Garcia Jr.
After getting nicked up during the series against the Milwaukee Brewers last weekend, Luis Garcia Jr. was noticeably absent from the lineup for all 3 games of the Nationals' series against the Twins. While he seemingly avoided an IL stint, the fact that he wasn't able to give it a go against numerous righty starters the Twins threw out there likely shows that he needs some time.
With the Nationals going up against another lefty on Friday night, perhaps we will see Garcia Jr. later on in the game to pinch-hit, but for now, Curtis Mead has done a wonderful job taking on more playing time in his spot. At this point, if Garcia Jr. was going to go to the IL it probably would have already happened, so I would be surprised if he was not back down in Miami.
Landon Harmon
The other piece of news came from Spencer Nusbaum, who reported that young righty Landon Harmon was being placed on the 7-day IL. He had missed his last couple scheduled starts for Low-A Fredericksburg, and there was speculation that he had been battling something.
We now have confirmation that it is a left oblique strain that is not expected to keep him out for a long time, so the 19-year-old avoided serious injury. As the 3rd round pick of the Nationals last season, fans have been dreaming about what a rotation of Harmon, Miguel Sime Jr., Travis Sykora, and Jarlin Susana, among others, might look like in the future, but for now we will have to put those fantasies on pause.
When do you think we will see Landon Harmon or Luis Garcia Jr. return to action? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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