The Nationals have placed outfielder Alex Call on the 10-day injured list due to a partial left plantar fascia tear. As initially noted by The Nats Report X feed, catcher Drew Millas will be promoted from Triple-A to take Call’s spot on the active roster.
While pursuing a pop-up in the second inning of yesterday’s 3-2 Nationals loss to the Braves, Call fell to the ground in obvious pain, and he had to be carted off the field. As ominous as the injury looked, Call told reporters that he has been trying to play through a case of plantar fasciitis, and the Talk Nats feed reported earlier today that an MRI indeed revealed a fascia tear rather than initial concerns of a torn Achilles or a broken foot.
Call will visit a specialist to determine how to best proceed with treatment, and since the Nationals aren’t in contention, the chance exists that Call might just be shut down for the remainder of the season if his recovery period will stretch too close to the end of the season. Some fascia tears can prove beneficial overall since a clean tear would lessen the ongoing discomfort in Call’s foot, but the Nats’ description of the injury as a partial tear leaves some doubt about Call’s situation.
It’s a tough setback for Call, who has quietly been one of baseball’s hottest hitters since Washington brought him up from Triple-A in July. Between this hot stretch and a seven-game stint on the Nationals’ roster earlier this season, Call is hitting .343/.425/.525 with three homers over 113 plate appearances in 2024. A hefty .403 BABIP is doing a lot of the heavy lifting on that production, but Call has been doing his part by making a lot of contact and also getting on base via a 10.6% walk rate.
After Lane Thomas was traded to the Guardians at the deadline, Call stepped into the everyday right field job and cemented himself in the lineup with his hot bat. In terms of how D.C. will fill the spot now that Call is injured, the replacement is coming on Monday when star prospect Dylan Crews will make his Major League debut. Call’s IL placement didn’t change the timeline on Crews’ promotion, so Joey Gallo or Ildemaro Vargas figure to handle right field duties this weekend until Crews arrives Monday.