Washington Nationals Move Hot-Hitting Veteran Outfielder to Injured List
The Washington Nationals will put outfielder Alex Call on the 10-day injured list with a partial left plantar fascia tear suffered on Friday, according to the MLB transactions wire.
But the injury did not lead to an acceleration of the Nationals’ top prospect, outfielder Dylan Crews. The Nationals called up catcher Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester.
Washington had previously announced that Crews would make his Major League debut on Monday against the New York Yankees. After Call’s injury, there was some question as the whether the Nationals might move up their young star's debut.
But Crews is still with Rochester, which is wrapping up a series with Lehigh Valley this weekend. He went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter in Friday’s game.
Washington's lineup was not out when the transaction was posted. But after Call left Friday’s game, they inserted veteran Joey Gallo into Call’s position in right field.
During Friday’s game, Call injured his left foot in a play that looked serious. He went down in pain and had to be carted off the field.
He had an MRI after the game that revealed a tear of his plantar fascia. He also revealed to reporters covering the team that he had been working through a bout of plantar fasciitis the past few weeks. He felt a snap when he tried to make the play that led to his injury.
“You guys have probably seen me limping around the field, dealing with the plantar issue,” Call said. “So maybe this is kind of more of a snap to release some of the pressure that I’ve been feeling down there. When I heard that, I was really excited.”
Before the injury, he was batting .343/.425/.525/.950 in 30 games, with three home runs and 14 RBI.
A 29-year-old right-handed hitter, Call was a third-round pick of the Chicago White Sox in 2016 out of Ball State. He didn’t make his MLB debut until 2022 with the Cleveland Guardians. He ended up with the Nationals later that season after the Guardians designated him for assignment.
He was in the midst of the best season of his career before the injury. He played 128 games with Washington last year and slashed .200/.307/.307/.614 with eight home runs and 38 RBI.
Millas has been with the Nationals before this season, as he slashed .167/.219/.300/.519 with one home run and one RBI. Last year he also played in 11 games for Washington, but he slashed .286/.375/.464/.839 with one home run and six RBI.
Millas was a seventh-round pick of the Oakland Athletics in 2019.
When the Nationals bring Crews up on Monday, they will need to make a spot on not only the 40-man roster but on the 26-man roster.
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