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Turns out Adam Eaton doesn't just have bone bruise in his ankle.
He had surgery Thursday to remove a flap of cartilage that was easy to overlook when it was immobilized but impossible to ignore when he tried to resume baseball activities. It explains why an injury that looked like it would require only the minimum DL stay has instead dragged on for a month.
So the good news is the issue is resolved, and after a week of down time, he can graduate to a walking boot and eventually move on to rehab with no more hangups. The bad news is we don't know how long any of it will take.
After some consternation over early reports that a 2018 return was "possible," The Washington Post has since confirmed that the Nationals do expect Eaton back this year. But are we talking 4-6 weeks or sometime after the All-Star break? There isn't a tried-and-true path for this sort of thing, and you've already invested weeks in someone who has played precisely 31 games since the end of 2016.
I'm guessing the timetable will be on the shorter end. It wasn't an invasive procedure, and Eaton will be mobile again in a matter of days. The source of the pain is gone, so now it's just a matter of his body healing.
And given what we've seen him do at the top of the Nationals lineup in those 31 games, as brief as they were, he's still one of the more exciting injured players you can stash. Rest assured, he'll be high on this list.
What again is the criteria for said list?
- How good is the player?
- What's the timetable?
- How likely is the injury to impact his performance?
Big risers this week are Greg Bird and Alex Reyes. They're both on rehab assignments and have the upside to factor in all leagues.
| 1 |
Clayton Kershaw
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
|
| biceps tendinitis | |
| 2 |
Jacob deGrom
New York Mets SP
|
| hyperextended elbow | |
| 3 |
Carlos Martinez
St. Louis Cardinals SP
|
| strained lat | |
| 4 |
Yu Darvish
Chicago Cubs SP
|
| illness | |
| 5 |
Madison Bumgarner
San Francisco Giants SP
|
| fractured hand | |
| 6 |
Justin Turner
Los Angeles Dodgers 3B
|
| fractured wrist | |
| 7 |
Miguel Cabrera
Detroit Tigers 1B
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 8 |
Wil Myers
San Diego Padres RF
|
| strained oblique | |
| 9 |
Robbie Ray
Arizona Diamondbacks SP
|
| strained oblique | |
| 10 |
Daniel Murphy
Washington Nationals 2B
|
| knee surgery | |
| 11 |
Elvis Andrus
Texas Rangers SS
|
| fractured elbow | |
| 12 |
Adam Eaton
Washington Nationals CF
|
| ankle surgery | |
| 13 |
Yoan Moncada
Chicago White Sox 2B
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 14 |
Rougned Odor
Texas Rangers 2B
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 15 |
Miguel Sano
Minnesota Twins 3B
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 16 |
Jake Lamb
Arizona Diamondbacks 3B
|
| sprained shoulder | |
| 17 |
Johnny Cueto
San Francisco Giants SP
|
| sprained elbow | |
| 18 |
Yadier Molina
St. Louis Cardinals C
|
| groin surgery | |
| 19 |
Greg Bird
New York Yankees 1B
|
| bone spur in ankle | |
| 20 |
Trevor Cahill
Oakland Athletics SP
|
| elbow impingement | |
| 21 |
Alex Reyes
St. Louis Cardinals RP
|
| Tommy John surgery | |
| 22 |
Andrew Miller
Cleveland Indians RP
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 23 |
Mark Melancon
San Francisco Giants RP
|
| elbow flexor strain | |
| 24 |
Zach Britton
Baltimore Orioles RP
|
| rupture Achilles | |
| 25 |
Todd Frazier
New York Mets 3B
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 26 |
Eric Thames
Milwaukee Brewers 1B
|
| torn thumb ligament | |
| 27 |
Mac Williamson
San Francisco Giants RF
|
| concussion | |
| 28 |
Jimmy Nelson
Milwaukee Brewers SP
|
| shoulder surgery | |
| 29 |
Ervin Santana
Minnesota Twins SP
|
| finger surgery | |
| 30 |
Carlos Rodon
Chicago White Sox SP
|
| shoulder surgery | |