Werth Has Elbow Injury; Surgery Is a Possibility

Jayson Werth has a torn ligament in his right elbow, an injury that could require surgery and force the Dodgers to add an outfielder to their winter shopping list.

The tear is partial, however, and the Dodgers hope that surgery will not be necessary. If it is, General Manager Paul DePodesta said, Werth will miss “a good part” of the 2005 season.

“He should be able to rehab it and do OK without surgery,” DePodesta said Tuesday.

According to DePodesta, Werth complained of discomfort in the elbow during the first game of the National League playoffs, but trainers put a protective sleeve over the elbow and he completed the division series. A subsequent MRI examination revealed the injury, but DePodesta said doctors were uncertain whether Werth aggravated an existing but previously undiagnosed condition.

DePodesta said the Dodgers would not move Werth to first base to ease the stress on his throwing arm.

“If he can’t get through the rehab part of it, he’s going to have surgery no matter what position he plays,” DePodesta said. “If he can rehab it, he should be able to play the outfield.”

Werth, 25, emerged as the Dodgers’ left fielder by hitting .262 with 16 home runs in 89 games.

He is particularly valuable because he has less than three years of major league experience, so the Dodgers can pay him whatever they like above baseball’s minimum wage. He earned $303,000 last season, and a free-agent replacement could be far more expensive.

So he can make the appropriate off-season moves, DePodesta hopes to know within six weeks whether the rehabilitation program is working.

He said he had spoken with the agent for center fielder Steve Finley, who is eligible for free agency.

The Dodgers could compensate for the loss of either Finley or Werth by moving Shawn Green back to the outfield and replacing him at first base with Hee-Seop Choi, who hit .270 with 15 home runs for the Florida Marlins last season but .161 with no home runs after the Dodgers acquired him July 30.