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As we noted in an article on Jayson Werth's impending return just a few hours back, the 33-year-old Washington Nationals' outfielder told reporters last night after a rehab start with Class-A Potomac that he felt he was ready to return to the majors. "There's really not a whole lot more to accomplish as far as a rehab goes," Werth, who broke his wrist back in the first week of May, said after a 2 for 3 performance in his ninth game in the Nats' system. "My hand's good and I think that's obviously the most important thing. Being in playing shape is one of those things where, you know, it takes time and it's pretty much up to the team whether or not I'm ready or not." Werth's been on the DL since injuring his wrist on a sliding play in the outfield in a May 6th game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Nats' general manager Mike Rizzo told ESPN980's The Sports Fix's Thom Loverro and Kevin Sheehan in an interview this morning that he thought the Nationals would get their $127M dollar outfielder back sooner rather than later. "We're going to get Werth back any day now," Rizzo said, "and we're kind of looking at that as our trade deadline deal."
In 27 games and 113 plate appearances before the injury, Werth put up a .276/.372/.439 line with five doubles, three home runs and three stolen bases. According to reports out of Nationals Park this afternoon the Nats' outfielder is just an official announcement away from returning to the majors:
Sounds like the
— Amanda Comak (@acomak) August 2, 2012#nats may have a roster move in progress, quite possibly involving activating Jayson Werth.
Jayson Werth, I'm told, is in the
— William Ladson (@washingnats) August 2, 2012#Nats' lineup today. (Subject to change)#MLB
More news when it's available...
The Nationals' manager's daily pre-game meeting with the press has been pushed back to 5:30 pm, leading to speculation that the team wants to see Werth take BP before making the official decision.