Say hey, baseball: Denard Span joins Nationals’ star-studded disabled list

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From Jayson Werth to Stephen Strasburg, the best and brightest on the Nationals’ roster are currently sitting on the disabled list. On Friday, that list expanded to include center fielder Denard Span, who succumbed to lingering back tightness that had been bothering him since June. The 31-year-old was examined by a back specialist on Thursday, who eliminated the possibility of structural damage to Span’s back, but also failed to isolate the root of the pain.

Even while battling back pain, Span has made remarkable contributions to the Nationals’ division race, batting .304 with five home runs and 11 stolen bases through 59 games. His roster spot will be temporarily occupied by top infield prospect Wilmer Difo, who has camped out in Double-A this season with a .286 average and 10 stolen bases in 44 appearances. Without Span, the Nationals will need to rely on contributions from center fielder Michael Taylor and left fielders Matt den Dekker, Tyler Moore, and Clint Robinson to patch the holes in the outfield.

Although Span has been experiencing the back spasms every four or five days, he is not expected to miss significant time away from Washington. His 15-day disabled list stint is retroactive to July 7 and set to expire on July 22, less than a week after the end of the All-Star break. According to an interview with Nationals’ manager Matt Williams, the club plans to utilize every spare minute of Span’s rehab so that he’ll be ready to go when he is reinstated on the 40-man roster.

“Hopefully in 15 days he’ll be back,” said Williams. “We’ve got four days to the break, lost a game to a rain-out, so that’s five. He’s not going to lose a whole bunch of games, which is good for us and good for him as well.”