Jayson Werth Back With Nationals

Just two days ago, it seemed as if Jayson Werth wouldn’t be ready to return to the major leagues until next week:

Thursday, though, the Nats must have figured he was indeed ready:

That timetable’s starting to look good for Werth and the Nats. Mark Zuckerman:

Werth, meanwhile, took a major step forward today when he took a full round of batting practice for the first time since breaking his left wrist on May 6. The veteran outfielder didn’t show any rust at all, at one point driving seven consecutive pitches over the fence in either left or center field.

“I was really pleasantly surprised,” manager Davey Johnson said. “I didn’t think he’d be hitting for another week, and he didn’t seem like he felt any discomfort.”

Things went so well for Werth that he requested to immediately begin a minor-league rehab assignment tomorrow, and the Nationals might oblige.

“After I saw him hit, I don’t see any reason to think differently,” Johnson said.Zuckerman’s report indicates it could be a while before Werth is back in major-league action; the long layoff means he’d need a while to get back in shape and get his timing down, but the Nats still hope to have him back in about two weeks.

Werth, who had a miserable year in 2011 in the first season of a big free-agent deal (hmmm... that sounds awfully familiar these days), was off to a good start this year, hitting .276/.372/.439 with three home runs in 98 at-bats.

Fortunately for the Nats, they have some help on the way:

For more coverage of the Nationals and Werth’s injury, stay tuned to Federal Baseball.