Alex

Avila

Maria Torres of The Athletic reported the news. Avila says he does not intend to stay out of baseball long and may look to jump into coaching or a front-office position. The 34-year-old is a career .233 hitter with 105 home runs and 395 RBI over 13 seasons and 3,049 at-bats.

Avila, who’d been out since mid-June because of bilateral calf strains and a case of COVID-19, figures to mostly serve as a backup down the stretch with Keibert Ruiz now installed as the everyday catcher in Washington.

Avila has been out since mid-June when he suffered bilateral calf strains while attempting to make an emergency start at second base. The Nationals won’t ask him to do that again, and the 34-year-old veteran backstop will likely help mentor youngsters Riley Adams, Tres Barrera and eventually Keibert Ruiz.

Avila has been sidelined since the beginning of this month due to bilateral calf strains and has now apparently tested positive for COVID. That could obviously complicate his rehab process.

Avila went down around the start of the month with bilateral calf strains, so it’s a good sign that he’s ready to do some catching again. We should know more about a potential target date for his return depending on how he responds to the increased activity. Yan Gomes is also sidelined, so Tres Barrera and Rene Rivera are sharing catching duties for the big club.

Avila will head to the injured list and be replaced by Tres Barrera. The backstop was forced to play in the infield due to the overwhelming amount of injuries for the Nationals, but now will be out at least through the All-Star break while he recovers.

Turner jammed his finger and was removed from the game shortly after he picked up his third cycle of his career. With Turner and Jordy Mercer both out, the Nationals starting Alex Avila -- yes, that Alex Avila -- at second base with Starlin Castro at shortstop. Consider Turner day-to-day at this point.

The Cards probably would have nailed Josh Bell trying to score from first base on Avila’s double in the second inning had they made a couple decent throws, but that didn’t happen. As it turned out, it was the only run Max Scherzer and the bullpen needed. Avila doubled again later in the game, picking up half of his team’s hits on the day.

Hand, Yan Gomes, Alex Avila and Jordy Mercer have all been cleared to return after being away due to COVID-19 protocols. Josh Bell, Kyle Schwarber, Jon Lester and Josh Harrison have not been cleared yet, while Patrick Corbin has been cleared but not activated. It’s possible that manager Dave Martinez will give Hand a tune-up outing or two before throwing him into the closer role.

Avila is among the four Nationals players who have been cleared to return after being away due to COVID-19 protocols. He’ll back up Yan Gomes, and Jonathan Lucroy is also still around as a third catcher.