Nationals' Jayson Werth to have arthroscopic surgery on AC joint in right shoulder

Washington Nationals' outfielder Jayson Werth injured his shoulder this past season on a play at the wall/out-of-town scoreboard in Nationals Park.

"'It didn’t look like much on the replay,'" Werth told the Washington Post's James Wagner in August. "'But just having my shoulder up above my head and it hit the wall just kinda right.'"

A subsequent MRI revealed inflammation in the shoulder and Werth received a cortisone shot at the time:

#Nats Manager Matt Williams said RF Jayson Werth had a cortisone shot today to reduce the inflammation in his AC joint. No structural damage

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 13, 2014

As noted above, there was no structural damage discovered at the time of the MRI. Werth missed a week of action, but returned to the lineup and finished out the season, putting up a .339/.473/.542 line with 10 doubles and four home runs over the final 35 games and 150 plate appearances of the regular season.

During the Nats' four-game NLDS loss to the San Francisco Giants, Werth went 1 for 17 with three walks and five strikeouts.

Though he finished out the season without incident, FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal is reporting this afternoon that the 35-year-old outfielder will be forced to undergo surgery on the right shoulder:

Sources: #Nationals’ Jayson Werth to undergo arthroscopic surgery on right shoulder tomorrow. Rehab expected to be 2 to 3 months.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 8, 2015

Werth’s surgery will be on AC shoulder joint - same area that caused him to miss a week last August. Will take place at Mayo Clinic.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 8, 2015

The Nationals, of course, just traded major-league-ready outfielder Steven Souza last month in the three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padres that landed prospects Trea Turner (SS) and Joe Ross (RHP).

If Werth were to miss any time, the Nats still have outfielder Michael Turner, who debuted in the majors last season and is widely considered on the cusp of being ready for a shot at the major league level.

Nats will be fine if Werth starts year on DL….Michael Taylor .304/.390/.526 20 2B 23 HR 64 RBI 37 SB at AA/AAA last year…can fly #Nationals

— Jim Bowden (@JimBowden_ESPN) January 8, 2015

Since Rosenthal's initial report, multiple sources have confirmed the news that Werth will have surgery tomorrow:

I have confirmed that Jayson Werth will have surgery on his AC shoulder joint. #Nationals #Nats #MLB

— William Ladson (@washingnats) January 8, 2015

Can confirm @Ken_Rosenthal report that Jayson Werth will have AC joint repair surgery tomorrow. Out 2-3 months.

— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) January 8, 2015

Source confirms Jayson Werth will have surgery to repair AC joint in his shoulder. Rehab timetable has him set to return around opening day.

— Dan Kolko (@masnKolko) January 8, 2015

According to FOXSports.com's Rosenthal, even with the latest news, the Nationals aren't expected to "increase" their pursuit of Rays' infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist:

Werth’s surgery not expected to increase #Nationals’ pursuit of #Rays’ Zobrist, per sources. WAS has viewed price for Zobrist as too high.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 8, 2015