Jayson Werth Has Broken Left Wrist

Watching last night’s game against the Phillies, when Jayson Werth dove for that ball in the 6th inning and subsequently got his hand/wrist caught underneath him it was obvious that he had done some damage on the play. When Werth could barely get to his feet in order to throw the ball back into the infield, it was clear that it was serious. By the time the game came to an unfortunate conclusion, word was starting to spread that the injury was just as bad as many feared.

Werth apparently broke his left wrist on the play, according to reports passed along by multiple sources, including Mark Zuckerman and Amanda Comak. It is believe that he will miss a minimum of 6 weeks, though a time frame for his return is still up in the air. Werth will see a specialist sometime this morning in Washington, in part to discover the full extent of the injury before a course of action can be decided. The ‘best case scenario’ is that the break is clean as any ligament or tendon damage will drastically increase how much time the veteran might miss.

Werth suffered a torn ligament in the same wrist earlier in his career, during the 2006 season when he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers. At that time the ligament was so damaged (nearly completely split in half) there were concerns about whether Werth would be able to continue his playing career, but he was able to recover and return to the game a stronger player overall. This injury, however, appears to be on the other side of his wrist, according to details passed along by Zuckerman.

Bryce Harper will likely slide over from left field to right field for the foreseeable future. Roger Bernadina (who’d lost playing time in center recently) and Xavier Nady will likely receive the bulk of the playing time in left field in the coming weeks, at least until Michael Morse returns from injury. Chad Tracy, Steve Lombardozzi, and Tyler Moore could also be options if needed – though it’s worth noting that none of the three has significant experience in the outfield in their careers.

Stay tuned to District on Deck and like our Facebook page for all of the latest on the Washington Nationals. You can follow Aaron Somers on Twitter @AaronJSomers.