Wilson Ramos has hand surgery

ByABC News
April 2, 2014, 8:00 PM

— -- Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos has had surgery to repair a broken bone in his hand, and is expected to miss four to five weeks, manager Matt Williams confirmed Wednesday during a radio interview.

Ramos suffered the injury in Monday's season-opening victory over the New York Mets.

Williams acknowledged during the interview with 106.7 The Fan that Ramos has a broken hamate bone in his left hand.

The Nationals placed Ramos on the 15-day disabled list later Wednesday afternoon, retroactive to April 1, and recalled switch-hitting catcher Sandy Leon from Triple-A Syracuse to fill the roster spot.

Ramos batted cleanup on Opening Day and felt pain in his hand on a swing. He was sent to see a hand specialist Tuesday before having surgery Wednesday in Baltimore.

Ramos, 26, batted .272 with 16 home runs and 59 RBIs in only 287 at-bats over 78 games last season. The native of Venezuela missed 59 games last year due to a hamstring injury.

Jose Lobaton is expected to take over as the Nationals' primary catcher while Ramos is sidelined. Lobaton replaced Ramos in Monday's extra-inning contest against the Mets.

ESPNNewYork.com's Kieran Darcy and The Associated Press contributed to this report.