Monday, May 7, 2012

Werth breaks left wrist

Updated at 12:01 a.m.

Jayson Werth broke his left wrist trying to make a sliding catch in right field during the sixth inning of tonight's nationally televised game, a major blow to a Nationals club already reeling from the loss of several key players.

Werth charged in hard from his position trying to catch Placido Polanco's sinking liner and nearly made the play. But his glove hand got twisted up badly in the process, his wrist bending backward.

Werth was barely able to get to his feet and throw the ball back toward the infield, then collapsed in the heap on the ground as a trainer and manager Davey Johnson raced from the dugout to check on him. He walked off the field under his own power but was carefully holding his left wrist and arm in place.

Johnson said Werth will miss at least six weeks, but a formal timetable for his return won't be known until he is examined by a specialist on Monday. That examination will determine whether he suffered any more damage to the wrist, particularly any ligaments, which could prolong his recovery by a significant amount.

With Werth out for the foreseeable future, the Nationals will have yet another key position to attempt to fill. They've been without left fielder and cleanup man Michael Morse since Opening Day due to a lat muscle injury that will sideline Morse for at least another month. They've also been without third baseman and No. 3 hitter Ryan Zimmerman for the last two weeks due to right shoulder inflammation. And they've been without first baseman Adam LaRoche the last four days due to a sore oblique muscle.

"All of a sudden, we seem to be getting healthy, and then, bam!" Johnson said. "We dealt with it before. We'll deal with it again."

Zimmerman and LaRoche are both expected to return Tuesday for the start of the Nationals' series in Pittsburgh, so that will help compensate some for the anticipated loss of Werth.

The Nationals, though, will have to find a suitable replacement in right field, with rookie Bryce Harper likely to shift from left field. Johnson said he'll probably use a combination of Roger Bernadina and Xavier Nady in left field.

Werth, in the second year of a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Nationals, is no stranger to left wrist injuries. His career nearly ended in 2006 due to a ligament that split in half, though Johnson said this break occurred to the opposite side of Werth's wrist.

38 comments:

Dr Trea (formerly #werthquake) said...

oh...great

ehay2k said...

Oh man, that looked ugly. And wasn't Werth's career almost derailed by a wrist injurya few years ago? I can't imagine what he is feeling right now. I hope it just looked a lot worse than it turns out to be.

Constant Reader said...

Buster Olney mentioned how much time Werth lost when he injured that wrist early in his career (the entire 2006 season). Made me sick to my stomach.

Anonymous said...

looked like he broke it to me...wrists don't bend like that...

Cwj said...

This is not good. Not good at all.

whatsanattau said...

Hang in there Jason. Get back by October!!

Bolshevism said...
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Bolshevism said...
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Cwj said...

The positive spin would of course be that Zimmerman and LaRoche will be back very soon.
The Nats should be able to recover from this.

Still though, this really sucks :(

Get well Jayson!

JaneB said...

I hope it's something that can heal with speed and grace. However much some people complain about him, I sure think he has helped turn the team around. Sending good vibes.

ExposedinDC said...

Lombo to left....Harper to right...Z man back Tuesday, we will be fine, long season, great teams deal with adversity. We will be firing on all cylinders come September......gyfng

Natman said...

Yep. Remember breaking my right forearm (football playing as a running back) and that was my exact reaction. Just grasped the break all the way to the hospital. Took six months to heal (four fractures in three bones). Hope Werth does better but we're going to see him in the lineup for quite some time. Are we thinking Corey Brown?

whatsanattau said...

I think we will see Jason Michaels or Brett Carroll first. I know that will frustrate some of you, but that's what I think might happen

Natman said...

True. Davey is fond of Carroll.

rogieshan said...

Brown, Michaels, or Carroll would have to be added to the 40-man roster, so it's not a sure thing the team would go that route. Zimmerman coming off the DL would negate the necessity of making a move to replace Werth. Moore stays for the time being, so it would seem. Whether to keep Nady around is the bigger question, IMHO.

carolync said...

And I had just breathed a sigh of relief that Desmond didn't break something in that headfirst slide into third...

Very painful to watch. Hope its not as bad as it looked.

Steady Eddie said...

Broken wrist, out at least six weeks.

Blast.

peric said...

I think we will see Jason Michaels or Brett Carroll first. I know that will frustrate some of you, but that's what I think might happen.

Nope, if they go for a veteran it will definitely be the left-handed hitting Mark Teahan who has been leading the Syracuse offense of late and has a .298 BA for those of you who like the BA stat. The others look pretty pathetic. They just got Xavier Paul back ... look at the Syracuse record of 10-20. A lot of that is due to a very weak offense that has been decimated by the loss of Harper and Moore.

I suspect Whatsanattau that there might be a flurry of moves throughout the minors as a result of this. Some of the more promising players could get shifted up to Syracuse. Moore still needs to learn to play the outfield so it seems likely he will get sent back ... yet he is the best power presence the Nats had in the minors. Even more than Harper. But he is a bat without a position since first base is occupied, at least until he gets enough experience playing left field.

Moore's bat sure appears to be the one they need. Not Bernadina or Nady's bats.

peric said...

Broken wrist, out at least six weeks.

Blast


He's close enough to DeRosa's age ... and that's what happened to DeRosa.
Six weeks might be unrealistic.

Sunshine_Bobby_Carpenter_Is_Too_Pessimistic_For_Me said...

The bright side: this team was built on pitching and defense and trying to cobble together a couple of runs. That game plan still works. It's just the margin for error got smaller.

Gonat said...

Yep, just heard. Unreal.

Joe Seamhead said...

I just got home from the park. Before the injury a handful of us Nats fan in section 140 stood up and cheered Werth and he acknowledged us. It's the first time since he came here that there were Nats fans in the lower RF bleachers when Philly was in town. We were outnumbered out there tonight, too, but it was probably close to 50-50. The classless Phans cheered when Jayson got hurt. They also booed the Special Olympics kid that threw out the first pitch. The Philly Phans got booed down quite often by us, plus when they started the "Let's go Philly" chant we knocked 'em down pretty good with,"Last Place Philly." It got hostile in sec.141 in the 8th inning and the Metro Police escorted a couple of folks out of them stadium. It was quite an experience tonight. Most of the Phans were okay, but the 20% jerk factor is just as bad as you heard that they were.
As to how we get by in the outfield, your guess is good as mine.We could sure use an RH with OF experience.

peric said...

The bright side: this team was built on pitching and defense and trying to cobble together a couple of runs. That game plan still works. It's just the margin for error got smaller.

I suspect its more a case of finding the right mix of players ... prospects who are ready to hit major league pitching and veterans who can hit. Davey was working through that to find the optimum lineup ... that still continues.

With Zim, LaRoche, Harper, and Morse that's two lefties and two righties for the 3,4,5,6 spots. That should be good enough with the pitching and defense.

peric said...

we get by in the outfield, your guess is good as mine.We could sure use an RH with OF experience.

With the return of Zim my guess would be that Lombo the super starting utility guy could end up in left-field. The better rendition of the starting utility slot Riggleman forced Guzman into gets to shine. When Morse comes back Lombo will likely have another position to fill. Eventually, Davey might bat him lead-off given Desmond's sub-par OBP.

Unfortunately, Moore in Syracuse getting experience in the outfield. Bernadina and Nady backing up the starters.

Anonymous said...

Question: With Zim back on Tuesday does Lombo got to a. 2nd, b. left field, c. the bench?

Question 2: Where does Bryce hit on Tuesday?
a. 2nd (between Des and Zim), b. 3rd (between Lombo and Zim), c. 4th (between Zim and whoever hits 5th)

My preference would be Lombo at 2nd and Bernadina or Moore playing left field (though I expect to see Nady). Also don't have high hopes of LaRoche being back Tuesday. I expect they will go with Tracy, especially against a right hander.

Gonat said...

It was nice going to a Phillies series in Nats Park and not feeling you were in Philthadelphia. I took the Metro and the ride home was miserable as many Philthies also went on the subway.

Its going to be a struggle to fully take back the park but I have to say Kudos to Feffer as the Nats sacrificed revenue for the sake of getting Nats fans back in majority possession of the stadium.

Gonat said...

Peric - It seems Moore stays as Zim takes Werth's spot on the 25 man. At least that would make sense to me.

Joe Seamhead said...

I think Lombo has to go to 2nd and Espy goes to Syracuse for a while to straighten his swing and approach out.He really looks bad right now at the plate. He's a mess. I also have serious doubts as to Lombo's arm strength in LF.

peric said...
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peric said...

My preference would be Lombo at 2nd and Bernadina or Moore playing left field (though I expect to see Nady)

A lot of folks keep forgetting that Desmond was pretty pathetic offensively at the beginning of last year ... and given his sub-par OBP he's on the cusp it seems.

Yes, Espinosa looks pretty bad but between he and Desmond he has the highest ceiling by far. The Nats aren't going to give up on Espinosa easy especially since they haven't yet with Desmond. Phil Wood is even blathering about Espy going to AAA to work on things. It keeps reminding me why I normally never read his blog entries or listen to his show.

Wood doesn't seem to have a clue about the Nats ... he purportedly knows more about the old Senators. However, I never hear him mention Tim Cullen who was far more pathetic offensively than Espy at his worst. The gap between them is as large as the grand canyon. But Cullen's fielding shored up second base until prospect Dave Nelson was ready ... and he of course would come up and get sent back by Teddy Ballgame because he wasn't ready. Wood is boring and too often wrong.

I'd much rather watch Bill Ladson who is far more entertaining when he gets into debates with Craig Heist.

peric said...

I also have serious doubts as to Lombo's arm strength in LF.

He's proven he can play third ... something Nyjer Morgan would never be able to manage with his arm.

Dr Trea (formerly #werthquake) said...

will hamels get some sort of suspension for admitting he intentionally hit harper? i know that a lot of times when they admit it, they do

peric said...

Peric - It seems Moore stays as Zim takes Werth's spot on the 25 man. At least that would make sense to me.

Davey doesn't see Moore as one of his "bench bats". He is a starter. apparently, Davey doesn't trust Moore in left field. Otherwise, I think he
would already be starting in left with Harper in CF. Yep, I suspect Davey and his coaches have decided that Moore isn't ready for the outfield.

But as we've seen he has no qualms about putting him at first. But his left handed power bat is at first. So ....

Joe Seamhead said...
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natsfan1a said...

Reposting here as I did not see this thread earlier (asleep).

natsfan1a said...

D*mn. I was afraid of that. Looked bad when it happened, and he's a tough guy who doesn't leave the field easily. I also wish Jayson a speedy recovery.
May 07, 2012 6:38 AM

Doc said...

The beat goes on. Get back soon JMan.

Mini Z to LF. Oppo Boppo to RF. Ankiel CF.

Just when it looked like we had the Philthies under control they hang a 9-3 on us. And Hammels is quoted as saying that he purposefully hit The Kid.

Them's fightin' words mister. Watch your back next time 'round--after you serve your suspension.

Anonymous said...

Peric - Espinosa looks awful right now. The defense remains good, but the hitting is not there. If Morse, Harper, Werth is the eventual long term outfield then I think you are willing to trade Espinosa's power for Lombo's higher OBP. Kid won a milb gold glove at second, so the defense shouldn't be a drop off.

Anonymous said...

Peric - Espinosa looks awful right now. The defense remains good, but the hitting is not there. If Morse, Harper, Werth is the eventual long term outfield then I think you are willing to trade Espinosa's power for Lombo's higher OBP. Kid won a milb gold glove at second, so the defense shouldn't be a drop off.

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