MRI reveals bone bruise on side of Eaton's right knee

Adam Eaton has a "bad bone bruise" on the side of his right knee, according to manager Davey Martinez, an injury that will continue to keep the Nationals right fielder out of the lineup for an indeterminate amount of time.

Martinez described Eaton's status as "day-to-day" but acknowledged the best he could offer right now is to serve as an emergency pinch-hitter, his knee still preventing him from running the bases or playing the field.

"It's the running that gets him," Martinez said. "He can warm up and he feels good. And all of a sudden he sits down and it just stiffens up on him. So I told him in an emergency situation if he can pinch-hit, that would be great. He said he could do that."

Eaton was hit by a fastball from Orioles starter Asher Wojciechowski in the first inning of Wednesday's game and had to depart two innings later when his knee stiffened up. X-rays taken that night were negative, and on Friday he was able to pinch-hit and draw a key walk that sparked the Nationals to a go-ahead rally against the Marlins before being replaced by Max Scherzer once he reached second base.

The Nationals hoped Eaton was good to go Monday afternoon and had him in the lineup for their series opener against the Mets. But after lining out to right field in his first at-bat and playing two innings in the field, he again had to leave the game, prompting club officials to schedule an MRI for him.

"The biggest thing yesterday that scared me more than anything was where he was tight," Martinez said. "It was behind his knee. Luckily, it has nothing to do with his hamstring, which I thought. That's part of your hamstring back there. That's what scared me. He was like: 'Well, maybe I can go back out there,' and I was like: 'No, you're not.' We took him out, and that was that.

"These things, because it's his knee and he's got to bend it and move it, it might take a little time. But hopefully not that long."

The nature of his injuries were different, but Anthony Rendon got hit by a pitch on his elbow in April, eventually was diagnosed with a bone bruise and missed two weeks.

"Yeah, we're hoping that it's a little quicker than that," Martinez said. "But we'll definitely have to just keep an eye on it. Adam's another one of those, as we all know, he's pesky. He doesn't like sitting. He wants to play. I told him: 'We tried it yesterday, and you got stiff and your knee swelled up. So let's back down a little bit. If you're capable of hitting in a pinch, you can pinch-hit.'"

Despite some struggles earlier in the season, Eaton had been tearing the cover off the ball over the last month. He batted .329 in August with five homers, 14 RBIs, a .444 on-base percentage and 1.066 OPS, serving as a critical bridge in the Nationals' lineup between leadoff man Trea Turner and sluggers Rendon and Juan Soto.

Now Martinez must find a suitable replacement in the No. 2 spot for however long Eaton is out. Gerardo Parra has started several games there but has struggled recently. Asdrúbal Cabrera is getting a chance to bat second tonight. Victor Robles is another option.

"So today we put Cabrera in the two-hole. He's been swinging the bat well," Martinez said. "If he swings the bat well, then he stays in the two-hole. We also ... against left-handed pitchers we've also used Robles up there. I think what Trea and him could do at the top of the order would be electric."