N. Johnson's return this season in doubt

From wire reports

June 24, 2008

Washington Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson will undergo surgery today on his injured right wrist and might not return this season.

"We'll know more tomorrow when they operate, but there's a possibility he might be out for the year," Nationals general manager Jim Bowden said.

Johnson has been on the disabled list since May 15 with a tear in the tendon sheath of his right wrist. He was sent to the Mayo Clinic for more tests yesterday, and a wrist specialist recommended surgery to examine some ligaments.

He was hitting .220 with five home runs and 20 RBIs in 38 games.

• Mets // Owner Fred Wilpon praised Willie Randolph's performance as manager, even though he agreed with general manager Omar Minaya's decision to fire him last week. "I think Willie did a good job. I think that the results the last, say, 14 months were not up to what we thought it had to be," Wilpon said. Randolph, who led New York to within one win of the World Series two years ago, was fired early June 17 with New York at 34-35.

• Red Sox // Starting first baseman Kevin Youkilis left last night's game against the Diamondbacks before the top of the fifth after getting hit under the right eye by a ball during infield warm-ups. He was taken for a precautionary CT scan. ... Curt Schilling's shoulder operation went well, his surgeon said. The operation on the 41-year-old right-hander involved repairs to his tendon and labrum, but there was no significant rotator cuff damage.

• Diamondbacks // Arizona activated outfielder Eric Byrnes off the 15-day DL and optioned outfielder Alex Romero to Triple-A Tucson. Byrnes, a former Oriole, missed 25 games with tears in both hamstrings. He was hitting .219 with six homers before the injury.

• Caps // The 30 major league teams will wear Stars & Stripes caps during games the Fourth of July weekend and Sept. 11 as part of a "Welcome Back Veterans" program created by Wilpon. Major League Baseball plans to donate to charity a portion of the revenue from the sale of the caps.