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Nationals' OF Nate McLouth tweaks knee, to be reevaluated today

Now even the backups to the Washington Nationals' injured players are dealing with injuries, though Nats' skipper Matt Williams didn't seem too concerned yesterday about the fact that outfielder Nate McLouth "tweaked" his knee before Sunday's game.

By Patrick Reddington
Elsa

In talking about the injuries which have hit the Washington Nationals early this season in response to a question from a reporter before Sunday's series finale in Atlanta, Nats' GM Mike Rizzo pointed to the depth on the roster which he thinks will allow the team to overcome the early-season issues.

"We prepared for it this offseason with the acquisitions of [catcher Jose Lobaton] and key guys like [Kevin Frandsen] and [Nate McLouth]." - Mike Rizzo on preparing the roster to deal with injuries

"We feel as good as we can with the glut of injuries that we’ve had to key players," Rizzo said. "We’re talking about your middle-of-the-lineup bats. But we prepared for it this offseason with the acquisitions of [catcher Jose Lobaton] and key guys like [Kevin Frandsen] and [Nate McLouth]. We still feel good about the roster."

At some point before yesterday's game, however, another issue cropped up with one of the players Rizzo cited as providing depth. Nate McLouth was originally penciled in as the starting center fielder for the Nationals against the Braves, but right before the game the veteran outfielder was scratched without explanation.

"Nate, we were out taking batting practice today and he had a little bit of a tweak in his knee." - Matt Williams on Nate McLouth injuring his knee

After the 10-2 loss in Atlanta, Washington's Manager Matt Williams discussed the late scratch.

"Nate," Williams explained to reporters, "we were out taking batting practice today and he had a little bit of a tweak in his knee. He was originally in the lineup, as you know, and didn't want to push him today."

"I believe it's his left knee," the Nats' skipper said. "He was out taking fly balls and reading fly balls off the bat, and so, I don't think it's anything serious. He was sore, so we just got him looked at by the doc, we'll reevaluate tomorrow."

There are no updates yet today, but we'll follow up with any info when it is made available.

McLouth, 32, signed a 2-year/$10.75M deal with the Nationals this winter after two seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. In nine games this season, the 10-year veteran is 2 for 13 with a double.

In 2012 with the O's, the left-handed hitting outfielder put up a .258/.329/.399 line with 31 doubles, four triples and 12 HRs in 146 games and 593 plate appearances, over which he was worth +2.5 fWAR.

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