Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has been activated from the disabled list, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.

The Nats officially remove Ryan Zimmerman from the DL, move Werth to the 15-day DL.

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) May 8, 2012

The club has moved Jayson Werth to the disabled list to make room for Zimmerman. Werth broke his wrist Sunday night while attempting to make a sliding play in right field.

Zimmermann has missed 15 games for the Nationals with a sore right shoulder. The injury reportedly did not bother the All-Star third baseman when he threw, but only when he swung the bat.

The 27-year-old was hitting .224/.324/.345 with one home run in 15 games prior to his injury. Over the course of his eight-year-career he has averaged .287/.354/.477 with 24 home runs and 94 RBI per season.

Ryan Zimmerman has told reporters that he is close to a contract extension with the Washington Nationals, according to Tim Kurkjian of ESPN.

Ryan Zimmerman just told us that he is close to a contract extension with the Nationals

—
Tim Kurkjian (@Kurkjian_ESPN) February 24, 2012

The 27-year-old third baseman had given the Nationals until Saturday to come to terms on an agreement for a deal that would keep him in Washington well into his 30’s. While he is still under contract through the 2013 season, he has said he doesn’t want negotiations to impact his play during the regular season.

It was initially believed that Zimmerman would seek a Troy Tulowitzki sized contract extension, however, recent reports indicate that he may be willing to take less to give the team a hometown discount. Zimmerman grew up in Virginia and played his college ball for UVA.

Some reports have said that the only thing getting in the way of finalizing a deal is an agreement on a no-trade clause.

Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has told the team that he does not want to negotiate a long-term contract extension after this Friday, according to MLB.com. He reportedly does not want contract talks to interfere with the regular season.

“It’s not fair for all [my teammates] to worry about [contract negotiations] every day. It’s not fair for me to answer questions about it every day,” Zimmerman said. “We have a good team. We need to worry about baseball. I see everyone is here already. We’re ready to start working. That’s what it needs to be about. … If it gets done, great. If it doesn’t, I have two years left, we’ll play it out.”

Zimmerman’s agent, Brodie Van Wagenen, was at Nationals camp today meeting with the team. It has long been discussed that Zimmerman, one of the Washington’s best players, would like to sign a long-term deal with the team that would allow him to retire as a member of the Nationals.

Zimmerman, 27, Hit .289/.355/.443 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI in an injury shortened season last year. In 2010 he hit .307/.388/.510 with 25 home runs and 85 RBI in 142 games for the Nationals.

Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has informed the team’s front office of the exact terms he would accept for a contract extension, a source has told Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

The two sides have been working together to reach an agreement on a long term deal for the past several years. The Nationals have said publically that they consider Zimmerman to be the cornerstone of their young franchise, but that the two sides still needed to hash out terms of a long term deal.

Currently Zimmerman, 27, is under contract through the 2013 season and will earn an average $12.5 million annual salary. Rosenthal reports that the club may look to scrap his old deal and sign him to a brand-new six-year contract that would keep him in Washington into his early 30’s.

Zimmerman hit .289/.355/.443 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI after missing a chunk of the first half of the 2011 season due to abdomen surgery. In 2009 he earned his first All-Star appearance after hitting .392/.364/.525 with 33 home runs and 106 RBI for Washington, and in 2010 he finished in the top 20 in MVP voting despite the Nationals owning the sixth worst record in baseball.