Ramos to have hand surgery, miss a month

NEW YORK -- Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos will have surgery on his left hamate bone and is expected to miss four-to-five weeks, manager Matt Williams said in a radio appearance Wednesday morning. The Nats placed Ramos on the DL before their game vs. the Mets and recalled catcher Sandy Leon to take his roster spot.

According to Williams, the injury occurred during the top of the seventh inning on Monday when Ramos was in the batter's box against Mets right-hander Dillon Gee. Ramos struck out looking.

"There was a foul tip, and he took a swing and he didn't feel good on it, so we got him out of the game at that point," Williams said.

Jose Lobaton took over behind the plate for Ramos, who had gone 0-for-3 before exiting.

Ramos has had plenty of bad luck over the past three years. He missed most of the 2012 season because of a devastating injury to his right knee, and he missed half of the 2013 campaign because of hamstring issues.

Originally, Williams said X-rays were negative, but Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr went on FM 106.7 The Fan on Tuesday and revealed that Ramos's hand problems date back to Spring Training.

According to Knorr, the injury first occurred in Jupiter, Fla., about a week ago. After a particular at-bat in Spring Training, Ramos went into the dugout and said, "My wrist feels funny." But Ramos managed to be in the Opening Day lineup on Monday against the Mets.

"[Monday], we were watching that last at-bat he had, and he took a swing. It was like the second pitch he took a swing and fouled it off over the first-base dugout," Knorr told The Sports Junkies. "I saw it and Rick Schu, our hitting coach, comes over and says, 'Randy, you see that?' I go, 'Yeah.' And then he takes a fastball down the middle.

"Now, Wilson Ramos has never taken a fastball down the middle, ever. So when he came in I said, 'What's going on with you, man?' And he said, 'I don't know, it doesn't feel right.' So we took him out of the game.

"For Wilson Ramos to come out of the game, it doesn't look good. I always try to stay positive and say, 'OK, go to the doctor, maybe it's not as bad as people think it is, maybe it's two or three days.' And I try to stay that way, but in my mind and seeing guys over my career, it really doesn't look good. It might be a hamate bone or something."

Leon was one of the final players sent to Minor League camp this spring.