Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon injured his left knee on a diving play in the field on Mar. 9. It was initially believed to be a bruise, but the swelling and pain persisted for days and Rendon was diagnosed with a sprained MCL a few days later.
His status for Opening Day now appears to be in doubt.
According to Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington, the 24-year-old Rendon had another MRI on his knee yesterday and the results still showed a sprained MCL. The injury is healing, but the chances of him being ready on Opening Day are "pretty slim."
Rendon finished fifth in the NL MVP voting last season after batting .287/.351/.473/.824 with 111 runs scored, 21 home runs, 83 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 153 games. His absence in the beginning of the season will surely affect the Nationals' performance considering they'll also be without outfielders Jayson Werth (for possibly the first few games) and Denard Span (until May), as they recover from offseason surgeries.
It was reported earlier in the week that Rendon's knee was still sore and that his status for Opening Day was "in question." Both manager Matt Williams and general manager Mike Rizzo weighed in on the issue.
"We're doing as much as we can without regressing," Williams told James Wagner of the Washington Post. "(His status is) the unknown at this point."
"There's no concern about the long-term health of Rendon," added Rizzo. "As we start whittling away the games, the concern comes if he has enough time to get enough at-bats, groundballs and be ready to go for opening day. That's the concern."
The Nationals insisted Rendon's sprain was mild, which means the ligament was "slightly stretched, but is still able to help keep the knee joint stable," according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Although it was believed Rendon would soon return, there is no concrete timetable for the injury, as the AAOS says "once your range of motion returns and you can walk without a limp, your doctor may allow functional progression" in one's return to playing sports - and a gradual, progressive return at that.
Rendon still has discomfort in his knee when he swings bat, so the team will have to wait until that subsides to get him back on the field.
