Jayson Werth is beginning a rehab assignment on Thursday night with the Washington Nationals‘ Class-A affiliate Potomac Nationals. It will be Werth’s first game action since he was hit on the left wrist by a pitch on May 15. Originally, the doctors thought it was just a contusion, but when the swelling wouldn’t completely subside, the doctors ran another scan and found a fracture.

While the Nationals will welcome Werth back to the lineup with open arms, his presence likely won’t make a significant impact on the team’s offensive problems. Even when Werth was healthy earlier this season, he was only hitting .208 with a .294 OBP, two home runs and 12 RBIs in 101 at-bats. It seems that he’s lost his power stroke, and recovering from a fractured wrist will only make it more difficult.

Within the next few weeks, the Nationals could  be getting Denard Span, Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon all back from injuries as well, but it’s hard to predict how any of those guys will perform after missing such a big chunk of time. It would be hard for the Nationals to rely so heavily on these players during the stretch run towards an NL East title without knowing how much the injuries will affect them long-term.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the lineup, GM Mike Rizzo needs to acquire at least one, possibly two hitters before the 2015 MLB Trade Deadline. Bryce Harper has been carrying the Nationals’ offense all season long, but teams are beginning to pitch around him because of the weakness of the lineup.

A couple of names that Rizzo could target would be San Diego Padres‘ Justin Upton, or Oakland Athletics‘ Ben Zobrist. Upton was the No. 1 overall pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks back in 2005 when Rizzo was the Scouting Director for the team, so there’s plenty of familiarity, and Zobrist has always been a favorite of Rizzo’s because of his versatility. In fact, the Nationals were trying to acquire Zobrist in the offseason when the Tampa Bay Rays traded him to the Athletics instead.

I’m not even sure that Werth should be a full-time starter when he returns. Michael A. Taylor has had a solid season, and plays much better defense than Werth can nowadays. It’s been a rapid fall from grace for the Nationals’ second-highest paid player as Father Time is nipping at his heels.

Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google+.