A CT scan on Thursday revealed two small fractures in Jayson Werth’s left wrist, and the Washington Nationals’ left fielder is expected to miss at least two months, according to multiple reports.
Werth visited orthopedic surgeon and wrist specialist Richard Berger at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota on Thursday. The 36-year-old has been on the 15-day disabled list since May 19 with what the team called a “left wrist contusion.”
MLB.com was first to report the severity of Werth’s injury and timetable for his return.
Werth has been out since being hit on the wrist by a fastball May 15 in San Diego. Four days later, when he was placed on the disabled list, he said there was still severe swelling in the wrist.
“It was bad,” Werth said. “About as bad as it could be without being broke.”
Werth’s left wrist has been the site of several serious injuries over the course of his career. He had surgery to repair a torn ligament in the wrist in 2006, then fractured the wrist in 2012. Werth consulted Berger in both cases. He now hits with a wrist guard in an attempt to prevent further injury.
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Werth had offseason shoulder surgery and began the season on the disabled list. After returning in mid-April, he hit .208 in 101 at-bats. Michael A. Taylor will likely start in left field in Werth’s absence, though the Nationals could also turn to Tyler Moore or Clint Robinson. Nate McLouth, who had shoulder surgery in August, still has yet to begin a minor-league rehabilitation assignment.
As of Thursday evening, the Nationals had yet to announce the extent of Werth’s injury.
It is not the first time their initial X-rays have failed to disclose a serious issue. On Opening Day in 2014, catcher Wilson Ramos left the game with a hand injury and manager Matt Williams said an initial X-ray came back negative. Ramos was later diagnosed with a broken hamate bone and missed 32 games.
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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