The Nationals waited more than two years for Cristian Guzman to prove his worth. Finally, this season, he showed them more than expected. And now this: a season-ending injury.
Guzman underwent surgery to repair the thumb Monday. The recovery time is 11 weeks, effectively ending his season.
“It’s too bad because he had a good chance to be comeback player of the year,” Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden said.
Felipe Lopez will move from second to short and Ronnie Belliard will take over at second. The Nats also purchased the contract of infielder D’Angelo Jimenez from Triple-A Columbus.
Guzman was batting .329, second on the team behind Dmitri Young. Guzman had solidified the leadoff spot after Lopez failed in that role in the early part of the season.
Brandon Watson will now take over the leadoff duties, though the move may not be permanent.
Guzman hurt his thumb in the fifth inning of the 3-1 win over Cleveland on Sunday, when he tagged out Josh Barfield trying to steal second. The throw from Jesus Flores was off target towards the first base side, causing Guzman to stretch out and then reach back to tag Barfield. He hit the thumb on Barfield’s helmet.
Guzman batted .219 two years ago, his first season in Washington. He missed all of last season with a shoulder injury and was sidelined for a month with a hamstring strain this season. But he was having a career season, helped by a .424 average in June.
“He certainly proved he was the same player who helped the Twins to three division titles,” Bowden said. “He actually improved his hitting. We were looking for good things for him the rest of this year and next year. Obviously this is a setback.”
