Jayson Werth was given a cortisone shot in his ailing right shoulder and will miss a couple more days, but the Nationals say an MRI revealed no structural damage and that the veteran outfielder shouldn’t need to spend any time on the disabled list.
The MRI, performed in New York, showed only inflammation of the AC joint, manager Matt Williams told reporters before Wednesday night’s game against the Mets at Citi Field.
Werth was out of the Nationals’ lineup for the fourth time in five games, hampered by a shoulder injury that progressively got worse late last week. Speaking on Sunday in Atlanta, he said the injury might have been triggered by a catch up against the wall August 1 in Washington. He played several days in mild pain, but it got worse during Thursday’s 13-inning win over the Mets.
For comparison’s sake, teammate Ryan Zimmerman sprained his AC joint in 2012 and required several cortisone shots to make it through the season before ultimately undergoing arthroscopic surgery.
Werth didn’t believe his injury was serious when speaking on Sunday and said he hoped he’d be back to something close to 100 percent soon, though he has little experience in this area.
“I don’t know, I’m somewhere where I’ve never been before,” he said. “I think I’m going to be OK.”
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