Jayson Werth on injured wrist: "About as bad as it could be without being broke"

By Josh Land

Nationals

May 19, 2015, 11:32pm

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Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Monday afternoon with a contusion on his left wrist resulting from a 92 mph fastball that struck him in the second inning of Friday's win in San Diego.

Werth left that game shortly after and was taken for X-rays that proved negative. On Monday, he received positive results from an MRI that didn't reveal any ligament damage.

"I'm relieved," Werth said yesterday. "I wish it felt better. I'm optimistic, but I don't feel like I'm out of the woods yet. Hopefully, in a couple days it will respond a lot better and we'll get going. But right now, I'm still pretty banged up. The tests were good, but I still feel like I have a ways to go."

Werth, who was wearing a brace on his left wrist after last night's game, indicated he is still dealing with swelling and lacks range of motion.

"It was bad," he said. "About as bad as it could be without being broke."

Werth has undergone three previous surgeries on his left wrist after breaking it once when hit by a pitch in spring training in 2005 with the Dodgers and again while making a diving catch in 2012 with the Nationals.

Rookie Michael A. Taylor was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts starting in place of Werth in left field on Tuesday night. Nationals manager Matt Williams could also opt to use Tyler Moore or Clint Robinson to cover for Werth until the 35-year old veteran returns.