Nationals infielder suffers big injury while warming up for Opening Day

May 12, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; A detailed view of the Washington Nationals logo on a weighted bat during the seventh inning of the game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Mets at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Nationals couldn’t even get to the first pitch of Opening Day without suffering some awful luck.

Nationals third baseman Nick Senzel was a late scratch for Thursday’s season opener against the Cincinnati Reds. He was replaced at third by Ildemaro Vargas.

Andrew Golden of the Washington Post reported on the reason behind the late scratch — Senzel suffered a broken thumb while fielding a groundball before the game.

The 28-year-old Senzel, who had spent the last five seasons with the Reds, signed with the Nationals over the winter. He hit .236 with 13 home runs and 42 RBIs in 104 games last year and was expected to be Washington’s everyday third baseman.

But with Senzel now facing the possibility of a multi-month absence (for example, Jose Altuve missed about three months last season from a broken thumb on a HBP), the Nationals will have to turn to Vargas or even young phenom Trey Lipscomb to fill in. With Washington going on to lose 8-2 on Opening Day, it is hard to imagine a much worse start to the year for them.