Nats expect healthy Eaton to be year-long force in 2018

As we transition into offseason mode here, we're reviewing each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Adam Eaton, who impressed in his first month with the Nats before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

PLAYER REVIEW: ADAM EATON

Age on opening day 2018: 29

How acquired: Traded from White Sox for Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and Dane Dunning, December 2016

MLB service time: 5 years, 30 days

2017 salary: $4 million

Contract status: Signed for $6 million in 2018, $8.4 million in 2019. Club options for $9.5 million in 2020, $10.5 million in 2021. ($1.5 million buyout for either year.)

2017 stats: 23 G, 107 PA, 91 AB, 24 R, 27 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 3 SB, 1 CS, 14 BB, 18 SO, .297 AVG, .393 OBP, .462 SLG, .854 OPS, -5 DRS, 0.5 WAR

Quotable: "Losing him was tough, because he's that little sparkplug. I know people have said that in the past, but it's true. He's that little scurry guy out there on the field. He sets the tone when he's leading off, and he has pop as well." - Anthony Rendon on Eaton

2017 analysis: The Nationals' most controversial transaction last winter was the acquisition of Eaton, a well-regarded but hardly star player, in exchange for three of the organization's best pitching prospects. Was the speedy outfielder really worth such a hefty price? General manager Mike Rizzo believed so, and one month into the season, Eaton was making believers out of plenty of others.

Eaton was exactly as advertised, a grinder who found his way on base at a nice clip, drove the ball to the gaps, hustled on every single play and never let up. He spent the season's first week batting second, but then took over leadoff duties when Trea Turner suffered a minor hamstring strain and actually remained there once Turner returned.

Things were going wonderfully until disaster struck in the ninth inning against the Mets on April 28. Trying to beat out a grounder to the hole at short, Eaton landed awkwardly at the front edge of first base, twisted his left ankle and knee and went down to the ground in a heap. As feared, he tore his ACL and wasn't able to return before season's end.

2018 outlook: Eaton, who had begun participating in some baseball activities by late September and early October, is expected to be fully recovered by the time spring training arrives. But until he's actually on the field in game situations, there will be at least some question about the state of his knee. Also still to be seen: Did the injury have any long-term effects on his speed and running ability, a critical part of his game.

If he is 100 percent back to his old self, though, Eaton should be able to step right back into the Nationals lineup and make the kind of difference he was supposed to all along. Michael A. Taylor's emergence this year should push Eaton to left field, where he'll likely be a bigger defensive strength. The Nats all along viewed him as a short-term solution in center field and a long-term solution in one of the corner positions.

It'll be up to the new manager to decide where Eaton bats in the lineup. He and Turner make a potent one-two combination, in either order, but there has always been a valid argument for batting Eaton in the leadoff spot (given his higher on-base percentage and ability to break up the left-handed bats in the Nats lineup).