Washington Nationals Place Austin Kearns on DL with Thumb Injury

by Dave at District Sports Page on Aug 5, 2009 12:29 PM EDT

As first reported on MLB.com last night after the Washington Nationals 6-4 win over the Florida Marlins, this morning the Nats placed RF Austin Kearns on the 15-day disabled list with a right thumb contusion, and he's reported to see a hand specialist in Baltimore as early as today.

Kearns has had a rough 2009 season, to say the least. He has batted .195/.336/.305 with six doubles, two triples, three home runs and 17 RBI in 80 games this season.

The 29-year old right fielder has started just five games since July 1, and with the recall of Elijah Dukes to play right field, his playing time would not have increased down the stretch.

Should this injury be more serious than a bone bruise, Kearns may have worn the Nationals uniform for the last time Tuesday night. The team holds a $10 million option for next season (with a $1 million buyout), an option they are surely not going to exercise.

To take Kearns' spot on the roster, the team recalled 12-year minor league veteran Jorge Padilla from Triple-A Syracuse. His first appearance with the Nats will mark his major league debut.

Padilla, 29, joins the club after batting .367 (114-for-311) with 18 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 21 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 95 games with Syracuse. An International League All-Star earlier this season, Padilla entered Tuesday's game leading the league in hitting (.367) and on-base percentage (.424).

Padilla’s 114 hits are tied for fourth most in the league and he is tied for sixth in the circuit with 58 runs.

Padilla is a lifetime .289/.356/.414 hitter in exactly 4700 minor league plate appearances. Drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the third round of the 1998 Amateur Entry Draft, Padilla has also spent time in the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals organizations.

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A 29-year-old rookie? Does he bring his own special bat...?

I wonder if Riggleman will Acta him right into the starting lineup…

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Patrick Reddington on Aug 5, 2009 1:03 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

ha! wonderboy...

Your voice of doom and gloom. Read more at natsnewsnetwork.blogspot.com

by Dave at District Sports Page on Aug 5, 2009 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Funny you should bring up Manny Acta.......

…brought to you by Friends of Dukes, subsidiary of Fed Baseball.com…

Dukes credits Minor League manager

“He has a different approach to baseball that I like,” Dukes said. "It’s like he is always pushing guys. He is a guy I talk to every day. It doesn’t matter. If you do something wrong, he is going to correct it. He doesn’t show favoritism.

“He shoots straight forward. He tells you what it’s going to take [to be back in the big leagues]. He is not going to sit there and change the way you approach the game.

We couldn't buy a AA pitcher for $2 million? Really?
by vanatsfan on Jul 31, 2009

by cat daddy3000 on Aug 5, 2009 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I know Dukes is trying to say something… I just can’t quite tell WHAT!

by John Quinn on Aug 5, 2009 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions

That Silent Manny was distant, unaccountable, and hypocritical in how he treated players.

We couldn't buy a AA pitcher for $2 million? Really?
by vanatsfan on Jul 31, 2009

by cat daddy3000 on Aug 5, 2009 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions

I think the biggest story here is...

Dukes talks to the media? Really hoping for a good 2 months from Dukes, so there’s no doubt about him starting in right next year!!!

Hammer, Morgan Dukes!!!

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Patrick Reddington on Aug 5, 2009 2:02 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I think he has turned the corner

Plays hard, so hard he choked last night literally. But i’m tired of the character talk he’s done nothing wrong in DC

by Parks Smith on Aug 5, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Friend of Dukes!!!!

We couldn't buy a AA pitcher for $2 million? Really?
by vanatsfan on Jul 31, 2009

by cat daddy3000 on Aug 5, 2009 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Do I get a membership card or a t-shirt or something

by Parks Smith on Aug 5, 2009 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I think all we get is an air of superiority........Ed?

We couldn't buy a AA pitcher for $2 million? Really?
by vanatsfan on Jul 31, 2009

by cat daddy3000 on Aug 5, 2009 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions

No. There's a card.

Air of superiorty optional…

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Patrick Reddington on Aug 5, 2009 7:07 PM EDT up reply actions

haha after Dukes gave me a bag of seeds and a ball at the Richmond Braves game last year, b/c i was wearing a nats jersey, he has been my favorite player

by Parks Smith on Aug 5, 2009 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Ever since I saw him belt two to center in old Yankee Stadium I've been watching...

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Patrick Reddington on Aug 5, 2009 8:05 PM EDT up reply actions

I want a t-shirt!

Or at least my membership card.

"It's not a secret, you don't need to be an expert on math to know that walks plus errors equals runs...." --Mannyger Acta

by Doghouse on Aug 5, 2009 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions

No Kearns lovers allowed in the treehouse!!!

cooties….

We couldn't buy a AA pitcher for $2 million? Really?
by vanatsfan on Jul 31, 2009

by cat daddy3000 on Aug 5, 2009 10:57 PM EDT up reply actions

It didn't even occur to me that this was the first interview with Dukes.

A credit he kept it positive about Foli, rather than how he was treated before…..

We couldn't buy a AA pitcher for $2 million? Really?
by vanatsfan on Jul 31, 2009

by cat daddy3000 on Aug 5, 2009 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions

The Nats kept him from the media before. He was off limits.

If you can’t convince them, confuse them. - President Harry S Truman

by RoscoeNats on Aug 5, 2009 6:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I wonder why the change now?

We couldn't buy a AA pitcher for $2 million? Really?
by vanatsfan on Jul 31, 2009

by cat daddy3000 on Aug 5, 2009 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions

The Kearns' Nightmare.... may it finally, painfully, mercifully,... be over....

The Curse of the Reds…….. put a shovelful of dirt on it…

We couldn't buy a AA pitcher for $2 million? Really?
by vanatsfan on Jul 31, 2009

by cat daddy3000 on Aug 5, 2009 1:21 PM EDT reply actions

The Curse of the Reds, the Curse of the Expos...

…it’s time to start writing our own ~~curses~~ history!

"It's not a secret, you don't need to be an expert on math to know that walks plus errors equals runs...." --Mannyger Acta

by Doghouse on Aug 5, 2009 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed........ the patchwork era of trying to find a roster that even an expansion team wouldn't have to deal with is over........

Honour the past, all of them, but create a team identity that is the Nats…

We couldn't buy a AA pitcher for $2 million? Really?
by vanatsfan on Jul 31, 2009

by cat daddy3000 on Aug 5, 2009 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions

"Regarding Kearns thumb, I had occasion to ask Tim Nehring, who was scouting director for the Reds last year, why Kearns was doing so poorly, and he said Kearns hurt his thumb with the Reds and was never the same, which is why he was dealt to the Nats. (I have seats at a minor league park near where the scouts often sit).

To me, this confirms that Kearns as a Nat has never really been right at the plate.

Posted by: nats24 | August 5, 2009

We couldn't buy a AA pitcher for $2 million? Really?
by vanatsfan on Jul 31, 2009

by cat daddy3000 on Aug 5, 2009 11:27 PM EDT up reply actions