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Jayson Werth was originally included in today's lineup when it was released last night, but before this afternoon's game with the Diamondbacks in Arizona, the 34-year-old outfielder was scratched with Scott Hairston taking his place in right field and batting third. The late scratch leaves the Nats' $126M outfielder with a .318/.398/.532 line on the year, with 24 doubles and 25 HRs in 129 games and 532 plate appearances in 2013, over which he was worth +4.7 fWAR, right up there with his best seasons in Philadelphia (+4.9 in '08, +4.8 in '09, +4.9 in '10). A hamstring injury early this season led to a lengthy DL stint, but the Nats' right fielder returned to the lineup and took off from then on.
After returning from over a month on the DL on June 4th, Werth had a .334/.421/.569 line over the final 102 games of his 2013 campaign, hitting 22 of his 24 doubles and 21 of his 25 HRs. In 360 games and 1,525 PAs after signing his 7-year/$126M deal with Washington, Werth now has a .277/.367/.450 line with a 162-game average of 32 doubles and 23 HRs in his first three seasons in D.C. Nationals' manager Davey Johnson was asked recently which National he thought was the MVP of the 2013 season, and the Nats' skipper said it was a close contest between Werth and Ian Desmond (.280/.331/.453, 38 2B, 20 HRs, +4.8 fWAR). Who's your 2013 Nationals' MVP?
• Here's the lineup for the Nationals' 162 game of 2013:
Davey's NEW Lineup, Sun. @ ARI/G162: Kobernus lf, Rendon 3b, Hairston rf, Moore 1b, Walters ss, Lombo 2b, Solano c, Perez cf, Roark rhp.
— Nationals PR (@NationalsPR) September 29, 2013
• No word on whether or not it will be televised, but the D-Backs are reportedly holding a ceremony to recognize Davey Johnson before his final game as the Nationals' manager, so tune in early just in case they show it. Best of luck in the future, Davey. Wherever it takes you...