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Washington • The Washington Nationals' World Series hopes took a serious blow Tuesday when All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos was diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee.
Ramos is out for the rest of the season, including the playoffs, taking one of the most consistent power bats out of Washington's lineup. He was hitting .307 with 22 home runs and 80 RBIs and was one of baseball's best offensive catchers.
Manager Dusty Baker said Ramos will soon have surgery to repair the ligament, which he tore during an awkward landing while catching a relay throw Monday night. It's the same knee Ramos had two surgeries on in 2012 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament.
The injury is a double blow for Ramos given the proximity of the postseason and that he's set to become a free agent after the World Series.
"There's never an opportune time," Baker said. "This was the most inopportune time for this to happen."
The NL East champions will go with a combination of Pedro Severino and Jose Lobaton behind the plate in Ramos' absence. They called up Spencer Kieboom as a third catcher earlier Tuesday.
Baker is confident that Severino and Lobaton can make up for Ramos' absence defensively but will count on reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper, second baseman Daniel Murphy and others to make up for the loss of a big bat.
"We'll really miss his offense," Baker said. "I told him: 'Hey man, you and Daniel Murphy, particularly you two guys carried us to this point. Now it's up to some of the other guys to take us to the next level and then the next level after that."
Murphy is dealing with a strained glute and Harper a left thumb injury. Baker expects Harper back this week as Washington tries to shore up home-field advantage and figures Murphy will be ready by Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Oct. 7.
Along with Ramos, Washington is unlikely to have pitcher Stephen Strasburg in the first round and potentially beyond because of a strained flexor mass in his right elbow. Baker is reluctant to use Cy Young candidate Max Scherzer on short rest in the playoffs unless it's a "dire emergency."
Not having Ramos is close to a dire emergency for the Nationals. Baker went to work immediately after a 14-4 loss to Arizona on Monday night putting together lineups without Ramos, with mixed success
Bench coach Chris Speier "came in to say goodnight and I was making different scenarios," Baker said. "It just so happened that he asked me what was those 15 sheets of rolled up paper in the trash can."
Ramos was having a career season going into free agency, with career highs in hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, runs scored, batting average, slugging percentage and OPS. Baker told Ramos, who he described as "upbeat," that other athletes have come back from tearing an ACL twice in the same knee.
"I told him about (Minnesota Vikings running back) Adrian Peterson. He didn't really know who I was talking about," Baker said. "I'm positive as strong and as positive as he is and the way he works that he'll be back stronger than ever."
The timeline for recovery and rehab from ACL surgery puts Ramos' start of the 2017 season in doubt and makes his free agency a giant question mark.
"It's time for us to, I think as a whole, maybe to take care of him, too, because he's taken pretty good care of us," Baker said.