The plan was to have 23-year-old catcher Jesus Flores learn his trade for a full season in the minor leagues. The plan was for veterans Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada, both signed to one-year contracts in the offseason, to anchor that position and provide punch to an anemic offense.
Necessity has forced the Nationals to throw the plan out the window.
Recommended Stories
Lo Duca, 36, broke his right hand in early May. Estrada, 31, never fully recovered from offseason elbow surgery. Both went on the disabled list May 9 and Flores (.311, four home runs, 25 RBI), recalled from Triple-A Columbus, quickly morphed into the Nats’ most consistent hitter.
Lo Duca was finally reinstated from the disabled list on Tuesday and recalled from a rehabilitation assignment at Columbus. But manager Manny Acta confirmed last week that Flores would remain the starter. Estrada has yet to begin his minor-league rehab.
“It’s tough to say that anybody was expecting Flores to be doing what he’s doing,” Acta told MLB.comover the weekend. “If we’re predicting that we would have never sent him [to the minors] or [been] signing any of those guys.”
Lo Duca immediately was penciled into the lineup for last night’s game against the Minnesota Twins at designated hitter. According to Acta, Lo Duca will see time at catcher, first base and left field. In 17 games prior to last night, Lo Duca was 10-for-50 (.200) with three doubles and four RBI. He signed a one-year, $5 million contract in December.
