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The Washington Nationals appear to have dodged a huge bullet Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Outfielder Bryce Harper had to leave the contest due to a "mild" hamstring injury, according to the Washington Post.*
The injury looked like it could have been a lot worse. Harper fielded an Asdrubal Cabrera single in the sixth inning, but slipped trying to throw the ball back to the infield. His left leg buckled awkwardly, causing many to suspect Harper had injured his knee.
*After the game, Harper admitted he was pretty worried about the injury at first.
Any team would suffer after losing a player of that caliber, but the Nationals are less equipped to handle the loss than most right now. The team is also dealing with a number of significant injuries. Jayson Werth is out until August, Ryan Zimmerman is sidelined with a foot injury and Stephen Strasburg is still working his way back from a back/shoulder issue.*
On top of that, Denard Span has been dealing with a nagging knee injury, and both Anthony Rendon and Doug Fister have missed time due to injuries. The club is already being stretched pretty thin, and losing Harper could be the nail in the coffin for Washington.
All is not lost, yet. At 34-33, the Nationals are only 2.5 games out of first in the National League East. As long as Harper is capable of returning soon, the team should still remain in contention. Once their other pieces are able to return, the Nationals may turn into the force everyone expected at the beginning of the year.
But if Harper's injury turns into something more serious, that's a major problem. The Nationals are already shorthanded, and losing the best player in the game would be devastating.
After initially panicking, Nationals' fans were able to breath a sigh of relief once news was released after the game. While it looks like Harper will only miss a few days right now, the Nationals aren't out of the woods just yet.
The injury looked like it could have been a lot worse. Harper fielded an Asdrubal Cabrera single in the sixth inning, but slipped trying to throw the ball back to the infield. His left leg buckled awkwardly, causing many to suspect Harper had injured his knee.
Here's the Harper injury. Left knee hurt. May have started when right foot caught/slipped(?) on turf https://t.co/h4Pe5gCmsM
— Cork Gaines (@CorkGaines) June 19, 2015
Harper was in obvious pain at first. He laid on the ground clutching his hamstring/knee for quite some time. Team trainer Lee Kuntz and manager Matt Williams came out to check on the 22-year-old immediately. After some time, Harper was able to stand up and walk off the field under his own power.— Cork Gaines (@CorkGaines) June 19, 2015
*After the game, Harper admitted he was pretty worried about the injury at first.
“With the way it felt, I’ve had problems with my left knee before, had surgery on it, so you know it was definitely really scary,” Harper said. “It didn’t feel all that great when I was laying there. So pretty scary, but being able to talk to the doc a little bit, see what he thought, see how it felt. Very happy with what it feels like.”
Harper did not undergo an MRI on Thursday, but said he still might have the exam depending on how he feels in a few days.*
“It’s not to that point,” he said. “If it still feels pretty terrible [Friday] or the next day, we’ll take that, but we’re just going to see how it feels.”
The Nationals better hope the issue is nothing serious, as they absolutely cannot afford to lose Harper for a significant amount of time. According to WAR, Harper has been the best player in baseball this season. Through 64 games, he's already produced a career-high 4.9 WAR. He also leads the league with a 220 wRC+, an advanced stat that measures a player's offensive contributions.*
Any team would suffer after losing a player of that caliber, but the Nationals are less equipped to handle the loss than most right now. The team is also dealing with a number of significant injuries. Jayson Werth is out until August, Ryan Zimmerman is sidelined with a foot injury and Stephen Strasburg is still working his way back from a back/shoulder issue.*
On top of that, Denard Span has been dealing with a nagging knee injury, and both Anthony Rendon and Doug Fister have missed time due to injuries. The club is already being stretched pretty thin, and losing Harper could be the nail in the coffin for Washington.
All is not lost, yet. At 34-33, the Nationals are only 2.5 games out of first in the National League East. As long as Harper is capable of returning soon, the team should still remain in contention. Once their other pieces are able to return, the Nationals may turn into the force everyone expected at the beginning of the year.
But if Harper's injury turns into something more serious, that's a major problem. The Nationals are already shorthanded, and losing the best player in the game would be devastating.
After initially panicking, Nationals' fans were able to breath a sigh of relief once news was released after the game. While it looks like Harper will only miss a few days right now, the Nationals aren't out of the woods just yet.