The Nationals have outfielders Alex call on the 10-day injured list due to a partial tear of the left plantar fascia. As mentioned in the Nats Report X-Feed, Drew Millas is promoted from Triple-A to take Call’s spot on the active roster.
While attempting a pop-up in the second inning of the Nationals’ 3-2 loss to the Braves yesterday, Call fell to the ground in obvious pain and had to be carried off the field. As threatening as the injury looked, Call told reporters that he tried to keep playing despite suffering from plantar fasciitis, and the Talk Nats feed reported today that an MRI did indeed reveal a fascial tear, rather than the initial fears of an Achilles tendon rupture or broken foot.
Call will see a specialist to determine how best to continue treatment. With the Nationals out of contention, there is a possibility that Call could be out for the rest of the season if his recovery period drags on too long until near the end of the season. Some fascial tears may prove beneficial overall, as a clean tear would alleviate the ongoing discomfort in Call’s foot, but the Nats’ description of the injury as a partial tear casts doubt on Call’s situation.
It’s a major setback for Call, who has quietly been one of baseball’s best hitters since Washington signed him out of Triple-A in July. Between that streak and a seven-game stint on the Nationals’ roster earlier this season, Call has a .343/.425/.525 batting average with three home runs in 113 at-bats in 2024. A whopping .403 BABIP goes a long way toward that performance, but Call has done his part by making plenty of contact and also getting on base with a 10.6% walk rate.
After Lane Thomas was traded to the Guardians at the deadline, Call took over as the everyday right fielder and cemented himself in the lineup with his great bat. As for how DC will fill the spot now that Call is injured, the replacement will come on Monday when star candidate Dylan Crews will make his Major League debut. Call’s placement on the IL did not change the timeline for Crews’ promotion, so Joey Gallo or Ildemaro Vargas is expected to take over duties in right field this weekend until Crews arrives on Monday.
