Late last night, following the Nationals' second straight dispiriting loss to the Marlins on the road in Miami, MLB.com's Bill Ladson reported that baseball sources of his had delivered even more bad news for the NL East's first-place Nats.
The right hamstring injury Ryan Zimmerman suffered last week in Colorado was a bad one. The Nationals hadn't and still haven't, commented on the severity of the injury, but Ladson's sources said it was bad:
According to two baseball sources, Ryan Zimmerman has a Grade 3 hamstring strain which means Zimmerman could be out a while. #Nats #MLB
— William Ladson (@washingnats) July 30, 2014
In a follow-up article, MLB.com's Nationals beat writer reiterated that the Nationals, "... did not confirm the diagnosis," but wrote that if accurate, Zimmerman could miss significant time.
"A Grade 3 hamstring strain is considered the most severe," Ladson wrote, "involving a tear."
FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reported this weekend that though the Nationals hadn't at that point confirmed what his sources were telling him, the injury was expected to keep Zimmerman on the shelf for 6-8 weeks:
Talk among #Nationals is that Zimmerman will be out 6-8 weeks. Team could add 2B (with Rendon at 3B), but Rizzo long supportive of Espinosa.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 26, 2014
With the Non-Waiver Trade Deadline just over 24 hours away, Nats' skipper Matt Williams told reporters this morning, before the series finale with the Marlins that he's had discussions with GM Mike Rizzo about potentially adding an infielder, but Williams, as Rizzo has in recent weeks, was sure to note that the Nationals have gotten to where they are now with Danny Espinosa playing significant innings since Zimmerman previously missed 44 games after fracturing his right thumb early in the season:
#Nats obviously discussing potential trade for 2B/3B, but Williams points out they're in 1st place with Espinosa having played most of year.
— Mark Zuckerman (@ZuckermanCSN) July 30, 2014
Williams has been having daily talks with Rizzo about trade deadline. Says #Nats won't make a deal just to deal, but will look for value.
— Dan Kolko (@masnKolko) July 30, 2014
Rizzo might be looking at infielders, but Williams says the #Nats got to where they're at with Espinosa playing a lot.
— Dan Kolko (@masnKolko) July 30, 2014
The Nationals did receive some positive injury news this morning, however.
Jayson Werth injured his ankle in the first game of three in Miami on an awkward attempt to avoid a tag at second base. Werth was able to make a pinch hit appearance in last night's game, and afterwards, Williams told reporters his outfielder could be available and good to go for this afternoon's series finale though he was only in to hit last night.
"We'll see how he feels tomorrow," Williams said. "He's not running real well, so if he got on there we were going to run for him anyway, so we'll reevaluate in the morning."
Washington Post writer James Wagner reported this morning that Werth told Williams he was good to go:
Jayson Werth (ankle) texted Matt Williams this morning that he felt ready to play. Williams doesn't expect any restrictions.
— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) July 30, 2014
And Werth is, in fact, in the lineup for the series finale:
#Nats @ #Marlins: Span CF, Rendon 3B, Werth RF, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Harper LF, Ramos C, Espinosa 2B, Roark P pic.twitter.com/EurMJ3tv8y
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 30, 2014