Eaton Done

In one race to first, the Adam Eaton trade went from great to terrible:

Adam Eaton will miss the rest of the 2017 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, a person familiar with the situation confirmed Saturday. Eaton injured the knee lunging for first base in Friday night’s loss to the New York Mets, a fluke play that now leaves the Washington Nationals without the leadoff man and center fielder for whom they surrendered three top prospects this winter.

Eaton was hitting .297 at the time of his injury, but he served a purpose beyond statistics for a deep and experienced lineup that did not need above-and-beyond production. The 28-year-old emerged as a spark at the top of the Nationals’ order, good enough in the leadoff spot to allow Trea Turner to hit second and the Nationals to alternate lefty-righty-lefty through the top and heart of their lineup. He also provided a relentless energy, the kind of edge and hustle with which Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo has tried to infuse the roster over the last two years. Fox Sports first reported the news of Eaton’s diagnosis.

It’s a very tough loss for the team. Eaton was a player who took an extremely good team to world beater. The Nationals will still be favored to win the NL East without him, but they are a little less elite.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2qsmTOo