Washington Nationals injury update: Jayson Werth left foot contusion still an issue...

The last update of any significance on Jayson Werth came back on June 9th, when Dusty Baker spoke to reporters about the 38-year-old outfielder in advance of the Nationals’ make-up game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Washington’s second-year skipper said the veteran left fielder might be out for a while after fouling a pitch off his foot during the Nationals’ stop in Oakland.

“It’s not going to be quick,” Baker explained, “because you know, anybody who’s ever hurt their toe, it’s heals the slowest and the worst circulation there, and it looks ugly, so we’re not planning on Jayson the next few days.”

Werth was placed on the 10-Day DL on June 5th, retroactive to the 4th, after putting up a .262/.367/.446 line with five doubles and eight home runs through 47 games and 196 plate appearances in his 15th major league campaign.

“He’s just trying to get the swelling out of there and that’s the toughest thing to do,” Baker continued, “keeping your leg elevated, stay off of it, but try to do some leg work and some arm work in order not to get out of shape while you’re hurt.

“It’s hard to stay in shape when you hurt your feet, because everything you do to stay in shape is on your feet, maybe except swim or something, so we’re going to do whatever we can to keep him in shape so it’s not starting all over when he gets back.”

Through 47 games and 196 plate appearances this season, Werth has a .262/.367/.446 line with five doubles and eight home runs.

He hasn’t played in two weeks at this point, however, and when Baker talked about the outfielder this afternoon, he said Werth was still working towards a return. They hoped to have him back against the Marlins this week, but he wasn’t able to return in time.

“He’s still receiving therapy,” Baker told reporters in Miami, where Washington was set to start a three-game series tonight.

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“We’ll see him when we get home, so I’m hoping he’s getting better, so we just have to wait till we get home.”

The aforementioned work Werth can do while he waits for the foot to heal was all Baker said he was doing right now.

“He’s swimming and doing all core work and stuff like that to try to stay in the best shape he can until he comes back. We’ll get a better look at him when we get home.”

The idea of a rehab assignment, Baker said, is still a few steps away.

“He has to get that toe right first before he can go rehab, because anybody that’s ever hurt their toe, it takes a while to heal, and then you’ve got to have a period of time when you’ve got to get back, back into baseball shape.”