The injury bug is starting to hit the Washington Nationals hard. Second basemen Starlin Castro was placed on the IL after breaking his wrist in the suspended game Friday against the Orioles. This is after they placed Sean Doolittle on the 10-day IL earlier in the week. As the corresponding move, the Nationals called up their second-best prospect Garcia. Luis Garcia is in the lineup Friday against the Baltimore Orioles, giving the Nationals a young infield with Garcia, Carter Kieboom, and Trea Turner.
Nationals Lose Key Piece in Castro
The Nationals have already struggled this season offensively as they are 25th in baseball at 3.93 runs scored per game. However, Starlin Castro has been a key piece thus far as he is hitting .283 with two home runs. He has had excellent games with the Nationals such as a four-hit game against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 30th. Castro’s importance has been heightened thus far as the top two of the National’s lineup have struggled in Trea Turner and Adam Eaton. Turner is hitting just .238 and Eaton is a tad lower at .224
In addition to Eaton and Turner, others such as Eric Thames, who has yet to hit his first home run, have had a tough year so far. The loss of Castro will be felt throughout the Nationals lineup. Castro has been hitting third, in front of Juan Soto, who has been on a tear since he returned from his positive coronavirus test.
Luis Garcia Makes Debut Friday Night
Garcia is the consensus second-best prospect in the Nationals organization behind Carter Kieboom. Garcia’s best trait on the next level is his defense. He should already be an MLB caliber second basemen for the Nationals. His bat is also coming along. After struggling last year at Double-A with a .280 OBP, Garcia showed promise in Spring Training where he hit .417. The Nationals were aggressive in calling up Garcia, just like they were with Soto, Bryce Harper, and earlier this week, Seth Romero.
Other Moves
Other than calling up Garcia, the Nationals made other roster moves in between games. The Nationals moved Sam Freeman to the 60-day IL and made Ryne Harper their 29th man. Earlier, they called up Dakota Bacus, who pitched two scoreless innings in game one.
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