Young OK after collision, Chaparro begins rehab assignment

BALTIMORE – He’s not in today’s lineup, but Jacob Young appears to be fine after a scary collision with the center field wall Saturday afternoon that left him on the ground in pain for several minutes.

Young found out after the game X-rays on his left shoulder were negative, and the Nationals outfielder also passed concussion tests. He’s sore, but he should be available to come off the bench this afternoon if his team needs him.

“It’s awesome,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I went back and looked at it: He hit the wall hard. I was kind of concerned he might have hurt his shoulder, or anything, or even come up with a concussion. But he’s a tough kid, as we all know, and he feels good.”

Young was trying to track down Ramón Laureano’s seventh-inning drive to deep center when he slammed into the Camden Yards wall and fell to the ground as Laureano raced into second base with an RBI double. He lay on the ground for several minutes as Martinez and director of athletic training Paul Lessard went to check on him. After a lengthy conversation, he was able to get up to his feet and walk off the field under his own power.

“It just knocked the air out of me when it first happened,” Young said. “That was my initial reaction: You just can’t breathe. It’s a scary feeling.”

The primary concern was Young’s left shoulder, but he and the club were able to breathe a sigh of relief when those X-rays came back negative. With the Nationals off Monday before opening a three-game home series against the Braves, Martinez decided to sit him this afternoon and give him 48 hours off before he’ll likely return to the lineup.

“We’ll get him back out there Tuesday,” the manager said. “But he’s available to pinch-run, pinch-hit, or play the outfield if we need him later on.”

With Young sitting, Dylan Crews again shifts to center field this afternoon, with Alex Call starting in right field.

* Andrés Chaparro is finally playing in games for the first time this season and appears ready to begin a minor league rehab assignment.

Chaparro, who strained his left oblique muscle March 14 during batting practice prior to a spring training game against the Braves, recently began playing in West Palm Beach, going 2-for-8 with a double, a walk and a strikeout in three games for the team’s rookie Florida Complex League club.

The 26-year-old first baseman was in a good position to make the Opening Day roster as a right-handed bench bat before suffering the injury. He’ll still need to get himself back into full baseball shape, playing an extended stretch with one of the organization’s minor league affiliates. But once ready, Chaparro could join the big league roster and provide a needed power bat off the bench.

* Orlando Ribalta emerged from Saturday’s simulated game feeling strong and is likely to throw another one Tuesday, according to Martinez.

Ribalta, on the 15-day IL since April 10 with a right biceps strain, would then go on a rehab assignment after the next simulated game, building himself back up to potentially rejoin the bullpen in the next few weeks.