Victor Robles’ breakout season halted by impending trip to IL

Washington Nationals centerfielder Victor Robles is heading to the injured list with back spasms, manager Dave Martinez confirmed Sunday following the Nats’ 9-8 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports.

Robles injured his back on Saturday in the third inning trying to steal second base. He was not in Sunday’s lineup.

The Nationals will call up Jake Alu from Triple-A Rochester. Alu, 26, will join the club in San Francisco, where the Nats are set to embark on a three-game series against the Giants.

The Nationals selected Alu in the 24th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Boston College. Alu can play second and third base and the outfield. This season, he has hit .240/.318/.333 with one home run and nine RBI in 20 games with Rochester. Last season, he hit .299/.365/.506 with 20 homers and 81 RBI in 132 games between Rochester and Double-A Harrisburg.

The 26-year-old Victor Robles has been on the path of a career year thus far in 2023. Before the injury, Robles has career highs of a .292 batting average and .388 on-base percentage through 107 plate appearances.

Robles has shown improved plate discipline. He has cut his strikeout rate nearly in half from 25.6% of his plate appearances in 2022 to 13.1% this season. Meanwhile, he drew walks in 9.4% this year from 4.2% a year ago.

While baserunning has been his Achilles heel, Robles already has eight stolen bases through 31 games. He swiped 15 bases in 132 games in 2022. The timing of his injury is disappointing and hopefully doesn’t stagger all the progress he made to start the season.