VIERA, Fla. — The Washington Nationals hoped Anthony Rendon would be ready to go Friday after bruising his knee following a dive in the field Monday. However, Rendon will miss more time because his bruise turned out to be a mild sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
“It’s mild,” Nationals manager Matt Williams said. “It wasn’t getting better as quickly as we thought it would and he wanted it to be. We got an [X-ray] of it yesterday. So, it’s a mild sprain. We’ll shut him down for a few days. Make sure that it’s good.
“It’s odd that he did it on the dive, but it is what it is and we’ll make sure we take care of it. In the next week or so, he’ll be back playing. It’s just an odd injury.”
The remedy for Rendon’s injury is simply rest. Williams said no procedure is needed at this time.
“There’s no issue with strength, it’s not loose,” Williams said. “It’s a very mild sprain, but we just want to be cautious with it and that when he gets back out there, he doesn’t feel pain.”
Rendon injured himself diving for a ground ball in the top of the sixth inning Monday. He stayed in the game, singling in the bottom of the inning, before coming out in the seventh.
Rendon’s injury is part of a spate of maladies for the Nationals early in spring. Center fielder Denard Span will miss several weeks after having an abdominal muscle tear repaired Monday. Left fielder Jayson Werth continues his slow grind back from offseason shoulder surgery. His availability for Opening Day is in question. Second baseman Yunel Escobar has a Grade 1 oblique strain and is not scheduled to begin light work until Monday. Starter Stephen Strasburg had an ingrown toenail removed Wednesday, forcing him to pitch on the minor league side Thursday.
Williams emphasized that Rendon’s injury is mild. Strasburg is also fine a day after having his innings and movement in the field managed. But, a year after dealing with injuries throughout the season, the Nationals have had setbacks for major pieces of the team early in the spring.
“It’s weird,” Williams said. “Some strange ones. But, it is what it is. We see it all around baseball where the normal stuff we do on an every day basis, you can have things go wrong. But, we have to deal with it. Anthony will be good. It’s just a question of a few days.”
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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