Wilson Ramos was quietly having a career best season for the Nationals. But, after tearing his ACL this week, how does it affect his fantasy fallout moving forward?
Wilson Ramos finally put it altogether this season, cementing himself as one of the premiere offensive threats for the Nationals. The Nats were going to lean on him throughout their upcoming postseason run, but that plan has drastically changed in just a matter of days.
Ramos tore his ACL on Monday, simply jumping up to catch a relay throw to t
he plate. He landed awkwardly, and immediately went down writhing in pain. He is no stranger to injuries throughout his career, he tore both his ACL and MCL in the same knee in 2012, but this latest setback could not have come at a worst time.
The 2016 season was Ramos’ walk year, and after declining a three year offer from the Nats, it looked as though he was ready to cash in during free agency in 2017. Ramos did everything in his power to make this season, his best season, even undergoing Lasik surgery and reworking his entire offseason program.
The results soon followed as he would go on to post a, .307/22 HR/80 RBI/.850 OPS line, playing in a career high 131 games. The C position in fantasy this season was downright terrible, making Ramos one of the biggest steals this season.
In terms of the immediate future, the Nationals will have to turn to a platoon of Jose Lobaton/Pedro Severino. Both are serviceable options, but obviously lack the upside Ramos brings. The team is still also waiting on Daniel Murphy to return from injury, potentially opening a huge chasm in the middle of the order at the worse possible time for the Nats.
From a fantasy perspective, his injury and expected recovery time, serves as a big blow to an already weak fantasy position. The best case scenario would probably be for Ramos to take the Victor Martinez route, moving out from behind the plate to a DH spot in order to avoid further wear and tear on his knees.
It always sucks to see guys get hurt, especially in contract years, and Ramos’ case is no different. The guy has battled injuries nearly his entire career, and was even kidnapped in Venezuela during the 2011 offseason, so it was great to see him show what he can truly do.
The talent is there, as long as his body stops betraying him, so monitor how his rehab goes and where he winds up this offseason. He could turn into a huge draft day value if he does not any setbacks.
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