The Trickle-Down Effect of Eaton’s Latest Setback

On Thursday evening, news unfortunately broke that Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton underwent surgery on his ankle and will miss much of the rest of the season. Eaton injured himself in the Nationals’ home opener on a slide into home, and regrettably it took doctors over a month to properly diagnose the ailment. Now, for the second consecutive year, he will spend the majority of the season on the disabled list. Speaking for all Nationals fans, we wish him a speedy recovery.

Eaton’s lengthy absence will have an impact on the Nationals’ lineup.  Howie Kendrick will now serve as the primary left fielder and Wilmer Difo will be the everyday second baseman. Matt Adams will also receive plenty of action supporting Kendrick in left and Ryan Zimmerman at first base.

Losing Eaton will negatively impact the team’s defense in left field and its on-base percentage, not to mention the energy he brings to the team each day. On the other hand, the infield defense should dramatically improve with Difo playing regularly, and fortunately, all three are off to a strong start to 2018. Adams has been arguably Washington’s second most valuable hitter this season, batting .298 with 10 home runs in only 84 at-bats. Kendrick has been his usual productive self, batting .288 with four home runs and 13 doubles, while Difo has been a catalyst at the bottom of Washington’s lineup during the recent hot streak.

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Sadly, top prospect Victor Robles would have been a perfect and natural solution to this dilemma, but he injured his elbow a few weeks ago diving for a ball in the outfield for Triple-A Syracuse and is also expected to miss much of the season. The expected return of Daniel Murphy in the next several weeks should bolster the offense and Bruan Goodwin will provide help whenever he returns from the disabled list.

However, expect general manager Mike Rizzo to begin searching outside the organization for another outfielder, preferably a left-handed hitter who can play multiple positions. It is difficult to predict midseason trades, but Kansas City’s Jon Jay is a name to remember. The left-handed hitting Jay is batting .283 with a .351 on-base percentage this season and is a career .288 hitter with a .355 on-base percentage. The 33-year-old can play all three outfield spots and is signed only through this year, so he should be available in trade discussions this summer. While not the player Eaton is, Jay is a possible trade target as another trickle-down effect to this unfortunate setback.

*Originally Published at MASNSports.com on 5/12/18*

1 thought on “The Trickle-Down Effect of Eaton’s Latest Setback

  1. Would you trade a box of baseballs for Jay ?
    Blame the trip to the bathroom for missing HRs… Perkins solo shot today and in my teen years a Dan Driessen HR in Cincy for Expos.
    Mapes stuff demands pinpoint control but his best heater was 84. Scratching my head , I wonder how much stuff he lost in that year on the shelf .
    Back to Jay. He could provide so much
    Ability to plug in anywhere in Martinez open minded line up filling out .
    So glad Nats did not trade Perkins for Voigt

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