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• Latest Updates (11:18 pm EDT):
The corresponding 40-man move for Corey Brown is Jayson Werth moving to the 60-day DL. #nats
— Amanda Comak (@acomak) May 28, 2012
Tracy to 15 day DL, Brown contract purchased, Werth transferred to 60 day DL.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) May 28, 2012
The Washington Nationals lost Wilson Ramos for the year to a torn ACL after 25 games and 96 plate appearances in which the 24-year-old catcher hit two doubles and three home runs while posting a .265/.354/.398 line. Ramos was replaced on the roster by 23-year-old Venezuelan-born by backstop Sandy Leon, who suffered a high ankle sprain on a play at the plate in his first major league game. When Leon went on the DL, 33-year-old veteran receiver Carlos Maldonado was called upon to serve as the Nats' backup while 27-year-old, five-year veteran Jesus Flores took over as the everyday catcher. When Flores left last night's game in the seventh inning with an undisclosed injury, it appeared that the Nationals might have suffered another blow in a season full of injuries that they've somehow overcome thus far to remain in first place in the NL East after beating the Braves 7-2 last night to sweep the three-game series in Atlanta.
• More Injury Info And Today's Starting Lineup...
Washington Times' writer Amanda Comak, however, wrote after the Nationals' win that the team wasn't too concerned about the apparent injury to Flores' hamstring which Nats' skipper Davey Johnson said was just a "mild strain." The Nationals' manager said he was simply being cautious, "... to prevent it from becoming a serious injury." Flores told reporters this morning, as NatsInsider.com's Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) wrote, that, "... his hamstring feels much better today. Hoping to play tomorrow but will wait to see how it feels."
The other injury news this morning wasn't as positive. When Chad Tracy suffered an injury in Saturday night's game against the Braves, he and Nats' skipper Davey Johnson both told reporters that they hoped it was just scar tissue from a previous surgery "popping." Reports last night said that Tracy felt it was a new injury, and the 32-year-old bench bat would undergo an MRI on Tuesday to assess the extent of the damage. Reports from Marlins Park this morning are saying that 26-year-old outfielder Corey Brown, who flew to Florida in case Tracy was DL'd, is in the clubhouse with Tracy unavailable. [Note: He's since been placed on the 15-Day with an MRI scheduled for tomorrow in Philadelphia.] No official announcement has been made, but here are the reports from Miami this morning from the Washington Times' Ms. Comak (@acomak) on Twitter:
Move to activate Corey Brown is indeed putting Chad Tracy on DL it appears, as Brown, not Tracy, is listed as available on #nats lineup card
— Amanda Comak (@acomak) May 28, 2012
Brown played three games with the Nationals late last season before an infection in his knee which required surgery ended the outfielder's 2011 campaign. At Triple-A Syracuse this season, Brown has a .297/.399/.584 line with nine doubles, four triples and 12 HR's in 48 games and 218 plate appearances. Brown had hit five home runs in five-straight games and six in his last 10 before he left the Nats' top affiliate this weekend.
• Here's today's starting lineup:
#Nats Lineup: Lombardozzi LF, Harper RF, Zimmerman 3B, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Espinosa 2B, Ankiel CF, Maldonado C, Zimmermann RHP
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 28, 2012