Nats catcher will undergo a second surgery on knee
Nats manager Davey Johnson said on Saturday that catcher Wilson Ramos will definitely not return this year. During surgery on Friday, doctors decided to postpone repairing his torn ACL and only took care of his meniscus tear.
“They couldn’t do his anterior cruciate ligament. They’re gonna do that at a later date,” Johnson said. “So it’s pretty obvious that he’s probably done for the year. That’s sad news.”
Johnson had hopes that Ramos could return this year. But now, according to Johnson, Ramos will have to undergo a period of rehab before the rest of the damage can be repaired.
“That’s the severity of the injury,” said Johnson, who said he didn’t believe that Ramos’s career would be threatened.
After sitting out the Miami series, Jesus Flores returns from a much less serious injury to start this afternoon against the Braves. Johnson sounds content with Flores as his catcher.
“Two years ago he was a good No. 1 catcher – catch-and-throw guy and an RBI man. But injuries set him back,” Johnson said. “His timing at the plate has been a little behind, but I don’t think there’s another catcher in baseball who’s done a better job blocking balls.”
Despite a lack of big league experience in the organization, Johnson doesn’t believe there’s any reason for the Nats to pursue other options at catcher.
“Catch and throw, I don’t think any organization has the depth we have,” Johnson said. “I think we’re very well protected there.”
