Denard Span’s 2015 appears to be ending with a whimper. According to Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington, Span is heading to the DL for the third time this season, and this time, it’s because of a sore hip.
Span is out again, this time with inflammation in his left hip suffered as he attempted to return from a lower back injury that sidelined him the previous seven weeks. The timing of this latest setback, at this stage of a season that has included a never-ending string of injuries that all appear to have been connected, makes it unlikely Span returns to play in 2015.
Span has played in just 61 games this year, hitting a solid .301/.365/.431 with five home runs and 11 stolen bases. However, he started the year on the DL, went back on the DL for seven weeks, and is heading back onto the DL after just two games. Injuries have crippled the 31-year old impending free agent’s year – he’s dealt with a sports hernia, an abdominal tear, a back injury, and now, the sore hip.
Perhaps more worrisome is that all of the injuries can be tied back to the surgery from the sports hernia – if Span simply took things easy in Spring Training and didn’t try to rush his way back, none of these other injuries may have happened, and Span could have been more of a factor for the Nationals this year.
Michael Taylor has admirably filled in for both Span and Jayson Werth, hitting .241/.290/.390 with 13 homers and 15 steals over 109 games. However, he also left Thursday’s game early with a knee contusion. Given the continued struggles of Werth this year (.205/.286/.315, four homers), that’s really not good news for the Nationals, and could signal the final curtain being pulled down on their 2015 season.
