Nats' Nelson Cruz Could be Headed to IL With Ankle Sprain

MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman reports that Nelson Cruz sprained his right ankle sliding into second base during the seventh inning on Sunday.

Cruz will have the ankle re-evaluated on Monday to see if he’ll need to spend time on the injured list. He’s currently considered day-to-day, but that could change by the end of the day.

This season, Cruz has 29 hits in 142 at-bats for 21 RBI, four home runs, and 17 runs. He’s hitting .204, with a .283 OBP, and a .579 OPS. Cruz is performing below a replacement player as Washington’s designated hitter, accruing a -0.5 WAR. The team signed Cruz in the offseason to a one-year $15 million deal, with a mutual $16 million second-year option.

The Nationals are last in the NL East with a 14-28 record, 13.5 games back of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.

Over at FanDuel Sportsbook, the Washington Nationals are +188 against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday. The Nats will send Joan Adon to the mound, while the Dodgers will hand the ball to Tyler Anderson.