Howie Kendrick suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon during the first game of a doubleheader between the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. Nationals manager Dave Martinez announced Kendrick will undergo season-ending surgery on Monday following the Nationals’ 5-4 loss in the night cap.
Kendrick’s injury occurred when he fielded a fly out in the eighth inning of Washington’s 4-1 loss. He collapsed to the ground after making a relay throw and had to be carted off the field.
âAt the time, I just threw the ball back in, and once I tried to put weight on it, I couldnât put any weight on it, really,â Kendrick recalled the sequence of his injury per Mark Zuckerman of MASN. âI was like: âOh crap, I better just sit down.â Thatâs when I really knew something was wrong with it, because I couldnât control my heel at all. So thatâs when I knew it had to be my Achilles.â
The Nationals have initially placed Kendrick on the 10-day disabled list. The Nationals’ injuries continue to pile up. The favorites to win the National League East are already without Adam Eaton (ankle), Daniel Murphy (knee), Ryan Zimmerman (oblique), Brian Goodwin (wrist) and catcher Matt Wieters (hamstring) among others.
Kendrick’s injury serves as a huge blow, as the utility was filling in at second base and left field for the injured Murphy and Eaton, respectively.
Kendrick was hitting .303/.331/.474 with four home runs and 12 RBIs in 160 plate appearances.
Andrew Stevenson started in left field and Wilmer Difo at second base for the second game of the doubleheader against the Dodgers. With Kendrick out, Difo appears set to get extended at bats at second base until Murphy’s return. As for outfielders, Washington is down to four healthy outfielders and is expected to call-up 19-year old prospect Juan Soto for depth in the outfield.
