Werth rehab debut delayed

When Class A Potomac announced tonight's starting lineup early this afternoon, Jayson Werth was listed as its No. 3 hitter and right fielder.

But when Werth was strolling around the clubhouse at Nationals Park at 4 p.m. -- on a Friday afternoon with heavy traffic throughout the area -- the notion of the outfielder playing three hours later in Woodbridge seemed out of the question.

Indeed, the Nationals decided to delay Werth's rehab debut a day, both because of the poor weather forecast and some stiffness in his surgically repaired left wrist.

The Nationals aren't concerned at all by the stiffness, and manager Davey Johnson that development actually was expected by doctors.

"That's a good sign," Johnson said. "He said he pushed it to the point where it got a little stiff. And he said once you get that, you're good to go. He said he heated it up a little in here and did a few exercises and felt great. So he's going tomorrow. No biggie."

Werth, who broke the wrist trying to make a sliding catch in right field on May 6, expects to play at Potomac tomorrow and spend about two weeks on the rehab assignment before coming off the disabled list and rejoining the Nationals in early August.

Fellow veterans Chad Tracy and Xavier Nady are still scheduled to play tonight in Woodbridge, with Tracy making his second rehab stint since undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia.

Nady (right wrist tendinitis) is on his 20th and final day of his rehab assignment, meaning the Nationals must either activate him onto the active, big-league roster tomorrow or else designate him for assignment.