Lobaton shakes off ankle injury, but Severino making a case

When he was trying to shake off the pitch that caught him square on the left ankle in the bottom of the second inning Thursday night, Jose Lobaton was asked by Nationals director of athletic training Paul Lessard if he could walk.

In that moment, Lobaton honestly couldn't, so he told Lessard he needed to come out of the game. That justifiably had the Nationals concerned about the long-term health of their No. 2 catcher, but those fears were alleviated when X-rays on Lobaton's ankle came back negative.

And Lobaton himself now realizes he's going to be fine.

"The first 10 minutes, I thought it was really bad," he said. "But then I was able to walk. I did some stuff yesterday, and then today I woke up and I want to say I can kind of do everything. I mean, I haven't run. But the way I've been walking, I think I'm going to be able to run the same."

The Nationals may nonetheless take things cautiously with Lobaton for the next few days. Matt Wieters already was going to start tonight's series opener against the Dodgers, but manager Dusty Baker would normally have Lobaton behind the plate Saturday afternoon.

That said, there was a general sense of relief among the club that nothing serious appeared to happen on the hit-by-pitch.

"He was walking without a limp today," Baker said. "I'm sure it's sore. We dodged a bullet that it's not fractured or cracked or anything, so that was big."

Lobaton's issue, serious or not, does serve to raise a question that has been percolating for a while now: Even if healthy, has the veteran earned a spot on the Nationals playoff roster despite a difficult regular season?

The 32-year-old is batting a paltry .153 in 45 games, with a .500 OPS that ranks last among all major leaguers who have as many as his 147 plate appearances this season. Lobaton, renowned during his career as an elite defensive catcher, also this season rates poorly behind the plate (55th out of 59 with at least 300 defensive innings, according to FanGraphs).

Could that open the door for Pedro Severino to make the postseason roster as Wieters' backup? The 22-year-old has only 31 games of big league experience, but he started two games in last fall's National League Division Series after Wilson Ramos tore his ACL, and he surprisingly owns an .828 OPS in 59 career plate appearances.

"He's one of the guys that's big in our future," Baker said. "This guy can catch. He calls a good game. The umpires have told me that he receives the ball well, gives them a good look. He throws well. He runs well. You saw him beat out a double play last night. Yeah, his future is big."