Jayson Werth needs shoulder surgery, recovery time is 2-3 months

Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder on Friday, putting his status for the start of the regular season in doubt.

The surgery was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and the expected recovery time is 2-3 months.

It’s late in the offseason for a player to go under the knife. Werth explained the delay in having the procedure to the Washington Post:

I’ve been dealing with this issue since I banged my shoulder on the fence in August. There was hope that it would heal with time and treatment, I pretty much did everything legally possible to not have surgery but in the end surgery was the best course of action with the 2015 season and beyond in mind.

Werth, 35, was very productive at the plate in 2014, hitting .292 with a .394 OBP in 147 games. This season he’s supposed to move to left field, swapping outfield spots with Bryce Harper. Ryan Zimmerman played a month’s worth of games in left last year but is taking over at first base, replacing Adam LaRoche. That leaves Michael Taylor, Kevin Frandsen, Tyler Moore or Jeff Kobernus as potential short-term replacements in left field should Werth have to miss regular season games. The Nationals open the season on April 6, just under three months after Werth’s surgery.

In light of the Werth news, and also taking into account Harper’s injury history, Rosenthal writes that Washington general manager Mike Rizzo should acquire Ben Zobrist from Tampa Bay. Zobrist would be an upgrade at second base while providing insurance in the outfield.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

Israel Fehr is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr