The Washington Nationals have surged back into the National league playoff race, and the continued excellence of youngster Juan Soto is a major reason for their success.
Unfortunately, Soto suffered an ankle injury in Sunday's win over the New York Mets:
Juan Soto has a mild right ankle sprain. X rays were negative and the Nationals will treat the injury as day-to-day.
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) August 11, 2019
Soto missed time in May due to back spasms, but he has since recovered and had been red-hot prior to suffering this injury.
Although bullpen struggles led to the Nationals losing the first two games of this weekend series against the Mets, Soto was dominant. He racked up five hits, three homers and five RBI in the first two games, then drew a pair of walks and scored a run in the series finale on Sunday.
For the season, Soto is slashing .289/.401/.543 with 24 homers and a 143 wRC+, cementing his status as a franchise player at just 20 years old.
While Soto and co. have been scoring runs, however, Washington's bullpen woes have not subsided. Sean Doolittle blew a save in spectacular fashion on Friday night, and then Fernando Rodney served up a game-tying homer to Luis Guillorme — who was hitting below .200 on the year — on Saturday night.
The Nationals rank 23rd in bullpen fWAR in the second half, and they rank 27th in ERA. They added some arms at the deadline but — much like with the Atlanta Braves — added depth has not solved their troubles in the later innings.
Now, with Soto possibly missing time, Washington will have to trek through deep waters as it looks to maintain its lead in the Wild Card standings.
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