Nationals Star Dylan Crews Dealing With New Injury After Getting Hit by Pitch
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One thing the Washington Nationals are hoping for this spring -- like all teams across Major League Baseball -- is to avoid suffering injuries to their star players.
That was put into jeopardy on Saturday when Dylan Crews was hit by a pitch on his left thumb during a live batting practice session. Scheduled to be in the starting lineup for Sunday's spring training game against the Miami Marlins, the Nationals decided to hold Crews out as they waited to learn the extent of the damage he suffered.
Thankfully, it was minimal. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the star outfielder is now day-to-day after X-rays came back negative. Crews is deemed to have suffered a left thumb contusion, which is the best-case news Washington could have received.
X-rays on Dylan Crews' left thumb were negative and he is day-to-day. The Nationals outfielder suffered a left thumb contusion after getting hit by a pitch during live batting practice on Saturday and was scratched from Sunday's lineup.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) March 2, 2026
Still, even though he avoided a serious injury, this is not the best thing in the world for Crews. The 24-year-old was predicted to take a major step forward in his career this season after largely being underwhelming as a professional. So missing any time is not ideal.
Luckily, this came at the beginning of March and not towards the end when the regular season is set to get underway. Hopefully Crews is able to make a quick recovery and get back to working out and playing so he can continue to ramp up towards the start of the 2026 campaign.
When Could Dylan Crews Make His Return?
At the time of writing, there has been no timeline revealed about when Crews could return. After tying the Houston Astros on Monday, they get a rare off-day on Tuesday before returning to the field in a scrimmage against Venezuela on Wednesday.
If the contusion is manageable, then there's a chance the outfielder is back in the lineup for that notable spring matchup. But since it's still early in the spring, there's also a chance the Nationals are super careful when it comes to the second overall pick of the 2023 draft.
How This Dylan Crews Injury Could Impact Nationals Outfield
Because it's not clear when Crews is going to return, it's hard to project how this will impact Washington. Based on the report from Feinsand, there's good odds that he misses minimal time if any since they are off on Tuesday.
But just in case the Nationals decide to take things slowly with Crews and he's held out of games this week, then that opens the door for Robert Hassell III, Christian Franklin and Andrew Pinckney to get more opportunities. The latter two are hoping to make their cases for earning a bench spot on the Opening Day roster, while Hassell appears to be the leader in the clubhouse when it comes to that role.
It goes without saying that this new thumb injury to Crews will be something to monitor in the coming days and the rest of spring as Washington continues to ready themselves for the 2026 season.
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai