There was actually baseball in Nationals Park on Saturday, after a week without a complete game with all the rain, but the Washington Nationals lost both ends of the doubleheader in D.C. with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and lost veteran outfielder Howie Kendrick, who went down with an injured achilles tendon in his right leg that seems likely to end his 13th major league campaign.
“Howie ruptured his achilles,” Nats’ skipper Davey Martinez told reporters after the second loss of the day. “He’s going to have surgery on Monday and then we’ll know after that how long he’s going to be out.”
When he talked after the nightcap of the doubleheader, Martinez wouldn’t confirm reports that the Nationals planned to call up 19-year-old prospect Juan Soto, though MASN’s Byron Kerr was the first to cite a source who said Washington would make the move before the series finale with LA.
“As of right now,” Martinez said, “we don’t have — I know that right now [Adrian Sanchez] is going to be here, so that’s all I know.”
He was, of course, referring to the Nationals’ infielder who was called up as a 26th man for the doubleheader on Saturday.
This morning, the Nationals made the announcement official, calling up Soto after the left-handed hitting outfielder tore up the minor leagues this season, coming off an injury-filled 2017 campaign.
Soto, signed out of the Dominican Republic for $1.5M as a 16-year-old back in 2015, put up a combined .362/.462/.757 line with 10 doubles, four triples, and 14 home runs between Low-A Hagerstown, High-A Potomac, and Double-A Harrisburg this season before he got the call today.
Ranked No. 2 overall in the Nats’ system this season, Soto was described by MLB’s Pipeline scouts as potential future “middle-of-the-order hitter” and, “... potential batting champion at maturity, especially if he can continue to add power in the coming years.”
How will he fare against major league pitching? Are the Nationals rushing him? What other options do they have at this point with the likes of Adam Eaton, Howie Kendrick, Victor Robles, and Rafael Bautista all hurt, and the offense struggling to get production from the available outfielders?
In addition to calling up Soto, the Nats optioned right-hander Jefry Rodriguez to Double-A Harrisburg and designated Moises Sierra for assignment.