Washington Nationals prospect Daylen Lile has left the hospital and is sore from a flip over the outfield fence in a spring training game in Fort Myers, Fla., on Saturday, but manager Dave Martinez said the outfielder sustained only a lower back contusion.
“He’s hurting, but he’s going to be OK, which is great news,” Martinez said Sunday. “We lucked out.”
Lile, who was ranked sixth among Washington’s prospects in 2023 by MLB.com, was playing right field when he pursued a home run to right-center hit by Boston’s Tyler Miller. Lile leaped at the fence in pursuit of the ball and his momentum carried him over it.
Members of the Red Sox bullpen immediately began waving for Washington’s medical team to attend to Lile, who was immobilized and stretchered off the field.
Lile, a second-round draft choice in 2021, had no broken bones, and scans on his back were negative.
Martinez said that Lile, who is not in the Nationals’ major league camp but was summoned for Saturday’s game, will be able to work himself back into baseball activities as lingering pain subsides.
“That’s the way the kid plays. He plays hard. He’s all in. But he’s going to be OK,” Martinez said.
At single-A Fredericksburg of the Carolina League and high-A Wilmington of the South Atlantic League last season, Lile hit .269 with nine homers, 10 triples, 66 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in 106 games.
–Field Level Media