Washington Nationals' outfielder Jayson Werth is out of the lineup tonight so Michael Taylor is set to make his major league debut tonight in Flushing, Queens, NY's Citi Field in the series opener with the New York Mets.
Jayson Werth returned to the Washington Nationals' lineup on Sunday night for the series finale with the Atlanta Braves in Turner Field, going 0 for 1 with the three walks in the Nats' 3-1 loss, but the 35-year-old outfielder talked to reporters this weekend about the AC joint in his right shoulder causing him considerable pain. Werth explained that he injured the shoulder on a play at the wall in Nationals Park during the last homestand.
"'It didn’t look like much on the replay,'" Werth told the Washington Post's James Wagner. "'But just having my shoulder up above my head and it hit the wall just kinda right.'"
Nats' skipper Matt Williams, as quoted in the article, told reporters he hoped a day off on Monday would help the inflammation in Werth's shoulder, but when the Nationals' lineup for tonight's series opener in Citi Field was announced, Werth wasn't listed. Instead, outfielder Michael Taylor's name was listed.
Taylor, the 23-year-old outfielder who was called up this weekend when Steven Souza, Jr. was placed on the 15-Day DL with a shoulder contusion, a result of another run-in with a wall, will be making his MLB debut tonight if weather in Flushing, Queens, NY allows it. There is a threat of rain tonight, but if they play Nationals fans who haven't seen Taylor on the field in the minors or in last month's All-Star Futures Game will get their first chance to see the 2009 Nats' 6th Round pick in action.
Taylor's fifth season in the Nationals' system began at Double-A Harrisburg, where he put up a .313/.396/.539 line with 17 doubles, 22 HRs and 34 stolen bases in 98 games and 441 plate appearances. Last week he was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse for a brief four-game stay before the Nationals called him up, in which he went 5 for 13 (.385/.529/.769) with three doubles and a triple.
• Here's the Nationals' lineup for the series opener with the Mets:
#Nats lineup @ #Mets: Span CF, Cabrera 2B, Rendon 3B, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Harper LF, Ramos C, Taylor RF, Fister P
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 12, 2014