Washington Nationals’ Christian Garcia Likely Out Two Weeks

Sep 12, 2012; Flushing, NY,USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Christian Garcia (56) pitches during the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Manager Davey Johnson told MLB.com’s Bill Ladson on Sunday that right-hander Christian Garcia could miss up to two weeks due to ligament damage in his right elbow. Garcia told Ladson that the elbow is getting progressively better by the day, so it appears that any missed time is mostly precautionary.

It was reported late last week that Garcia would get a second opinion on the forearm, and though the results of that consultation were never directly released, it’s safe to say the general consensus was that Garcia should rest until ready.

Garcia made his big-league debut with Washington last year after battling through two Tommy John surgeries, pitching to a 2.13 ERA in helping the Nationals to their first Division Title since coming to Washington in 2005. It seems he will recover fully, though if he ultimately needs to take off more time, the Nationals have stocked up on pitching depth this offseason and should be just fine.