Werth and Scherzer return; Bautista and Stevenson sent down

The Nationals have reinstated right-hander Max Scherzer and outfielder Jayson Werth prior to tonight's series opener against the Miami Marlins.

Scherzer has been on the 10-day disabled list with neck inflammation and will make the start tonight. Werth has been out since June 4 with a broken left foot. He will bat seventh and play right field.

The club optioned outfielders Rafael Bautista and Andrew Stevenson to Triple-A Syracuse. Also, the Nats announced that infielder Stephen Drew has been moved to the 60-day disabled list with a left abdominal strain. Drew has been on the shelf since July 26.

Manager Dusty Baker was asked how much he will monitor Scherzer tonight and how many innings they will expect from him.

"I haven't talked to (pitching coach) Mike Maddux about him yet," Baker said. "Depends on how much he's been throwing, how sharp he is. We need to put some distance on (the Marlins), and they're trying for the wild card, they've played good. Our bullpen's a little spent after this weekend, so we need Max to be pitch-efficient to hopefully take us deep into the game because our bullpen is kind of worn out after this weekend's games."

Werth spent the last couple of weeks rehabbing in games with Syracuse and high Single-A Potomac.

"He's here. If he's here, he's here to play," Baker said. "Glad to have him back. We're going to have to watch him, watch his legs, how much he plays, try not to overplay him. You got to play them enough to get them right. I asked did he still have a right fielder's glove. He told me he's always had his right fielder's glove. He's going to play right field."

Shortstop Trea Turner was in the clubhouse and continues to rehab with the club. No update yet on the exact date for his return, but it should not be much longer.

Werth met with reporters during pregame before getting back on the field for the first time since early June.

"Yeah, feel good," Werth said. "Obviously, with me playing a week in the minor leagues, probably have some work to do still with the stamina, playing every day. Foot feels good, I feel good. Gotten a lot of at-bats in the minors leagues and sim games in Florida. Timing shouldn't be too bad, we'll see."

Most of the last few seasons with the Nats, Werth has played left field, but he has no problem returning as the right fielder while Bryce Harper (hyperextended left knee) continues his rehab.

"I played like 1,000 games or something in right field, so it should be pretty comfortable," Werth said. "I played one game down the other day in Potomac. I've been there before, it wasn't like the other day when I moved to left, I hadn't played there in 10 years, so this should be a little smoother."

Werth was on the disabled list for almost three months of the season. He went down when a baseball broke his foot on June 4. He said the amount of time off did not frustrate him too much because he realized the extent of the injury.

"I had a broken foot, the reality of it is it takes time," Werth said. "Nothing really you can do about it. You barrel up a 96 mph sideways ball off your foot and break your bone. It's not like I pulled something or I had something nagging or an injury that I've had for a long time that's kept me out. so I feel like I can still play this game for a long time, and guys get injured, guys get dinged up. I feel good, I'm here to help and my eyes are still on the prize. I want to win. I want to win the World Series, and I think we got the team to do it.

"I'm glad to be back with enough time to get in shape and just kind of fall back into my normal routine. And be with the guys, these guys have been playing great, we got a great group of guys and sky's the limit for this team, sky's the limit, but we got a long way to go. We got a long hard road. Marlins are playing good baseball, we should be getting Trea back soon, Max is pitching tonight, so I'm excited, I'm thrilled to be back and we'll see what happens."