WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals have lost yet another outfielder to injury.
Center fielder Michael A. Taylor has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right oblique strain. In Thursday's series opener against the Atlanta Braves, Taylor started in center but was removed after grounding out in the bottom of the third inning.
"I felt like a sharp pain in my side," Taylor told reporters after the game. "Been dealing with it for a couple of weeks now."
On Friday afternoon, the Nationals officially placed Taylor on the DL and activated fellow outfielder Chris Heisey, who'd been out since May 24 with a ruptured right biceps.
Taylor becomes the fourth Washington outfielder this season to hit the shelf. On April 28, starting centerfielder Adam Eaton suffered a season-ending knee injury when he landed awkwardly trying to beat out an infield grounder. Starting left fielder Jayson Werth has been out since June 3 with a contusion he sustained after fouling a ball off his foot.
Following the loss of Eaton, the 26-year old Taylor helped stabilize Washington's outfield. On the season, he's hitting .278 with 12 home runs and 35 RBIs. Rookie Brian Goodwin, who slid over from left field on Thursday to replace Taylor, is starting in center on Friday and is expected to get the bulk of the playing time there while Taylor is out.
"Hopefully it won't be more than 10 days," said manager Dusty Baker on Friday afternoon. "Luckily for us, four of those days are the All-Star break. So if it was going to happen, we couldn't pick a more opportune time."