Eaton (hamstring) is serving as the designated hitter Thursday for the second day in a row.

EDGE Analysis

Eaton is still not ready to occupy an outfield spot, but it's a good sign that he will at least take at-bats for the second day in a row. It seems likely he will have enough time to both get back in the field and get up to full speed before the regular season gets underway.

Eaton (hamstring) will bat second and serve as the Nationals' designated hitter in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

EDGE Analysis

Eaton was out of the lineup for the past eight days with a tight hamstring, but after he was able to run the bases without any apparent complications the past two days, the Nationals have signed off on him playing in a purely offensive role. Washington is likely just taking some extra precaution with the oft-injured outfielder, who should be cleared to man his normal position in the field by time spring training ends.

Eaton (hamstring) was able to get on the field Saturday to hit but was only running at 75-80 percent, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

As yet, the Nats don't believe the veteran outfielder will miss Opening Day, as he got an early jump on training camp in January and won't need to completely start from scratch once he's cleared to return. "I'll start getting concerned if he's not playing within the next five or six days," manager Dave Martinez said Sunday. "We could ramp him up here fairly quickly. For me, I told him -- just like these other guys -- 'Until you show me you can do everything, you're going to just stay back there.' "

Eaton (hamstring) is not in the lineup for either split-squad game on the Nationals' schedule Saturday, according to MLB.com.

EDGE Analysis

Manager Dave Martinez downplayed Eaton's injury after he was removed from Tuesday's spring game, but he has not played since; and with an off day Monday, it could still be a few days before he is back in the lineup. As long as he is able to return to action at some point next week, he should be good to go for Opening Day.

Eaton's early exit from Tuesday's game against Baltimore was due to a tweaked left hamstring, Sam Fortier of The Washington Post reports.

EDGE Analysis

The issue doesn't appear to be too serious, with manager Dave Martinez saying the outfielder would have stayed in the game if it were a regular-season contest. Assuming Eaton gets back into a game soon, his readiness for Opening Day shouldn't be significantly impacted.

Eaton left Tuesday's game against the Orioles with an apparent injury, MLB.com's Christina De Nicola reports.

EDGE Analysis

Eaton played just one inning in the contest before being replaced by Andrew Stevenson in the top of the second. The nature and severity of Eaton's issue are not yet clear.

The Nationals have picked up Eaton's $9.5 million club option for 2020, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Eaton was injury plagued for his first two seasons in Washington, but he appeared in 151 games in 2019 and posted a .279/.365/.428 slash line with 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases. The 30-year-old also had a .246/.361/.410 slash line with two homers and a 10:9 BB:K in 17 playoff games to help the Nationals win the World Series. Eaton should enter the 2020 campaign as the starting right fielder in Washington, with youngsters Juan Soto and Victor Robles filling the other two starting spots.

Eaton went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a pair of runs scored in Tuesday's 7-2 win over Houston in Game 6 of the World Series.

EDGE Analysis

Eaton lined a one-out shot to right field off Justin Verlander to tie the game at 2-2. It was the second long ball of the World Series for the 30-year-old right fielder, who had gone a combined 0-for-7 in Games 4 and 5. He's slashing .246/.358/.421 in 57 postseason at-bats.

Eaton went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Wednesday's 12-3 win over Houston in Game 2 of the World Series.

EDGE Analysis

Eaton drove a Josh James offering over the right field wall in the eighth inning, a two-run shot that extended the Nationals' lead to 10-2. He also singled in the first inning and is now riding a six-game hitting streak in the postseason, including a pair of hits in each of the first two games of the World Series,

Eaton went 0-for-1 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base in the Nationals' 8-2 win over the Indians on Sunday.

EDGE Analysis

Eaton stepped up to the plate twice before being subbed out by Andrew Stevenson after the third inning. The veteran outfielder finished the regular season slashing .279/.365/.428 with 15 home runs and 49 RBI across 656 plate appearances. Eaton finally logged in a full season with the team without getting hurt and is now ready to help guide the Nationals to a deep run in the playoffs starting Tuesday in the wild-card game against the Brewers.