East Notes: Glover, Eaton, Moreland, Rays

The Nationals have announced that they’ve placed closer Koda Glover on the 10-day DL with lower back stiffness. They’ve replaced him on their active roster with Joe Blanton, who had been out with a shoulder injury. After struggling against the Rangers on Saturday, Glover told the Nationals he had hurt his back while in the shower. In the short term, Glover’s injury could clear the way for Matt Albers to pick up saves chances. In the longer term, the Nationals could still acquire a closer from outside the organization, having been connected to a number of names recently. Here’s more from the East divisions.

• Nats outfielder Adam Eaton says he’s “ahead of schedule” in his return from a torn ACL, writes Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Eaton isn’t sure exactly how far ahead of schedule he is, and his chances of playing again this year aren’t known, although it didn’t appear likely he would at the time of the injury. He’s keeping an eye toward the future. “Not just this year, not just next year, but the longevity of my career and how it may be shaped by this injury,” he says of his thought process. Eaton also sounds keenly aware of fan opinions of the costly trade that brought him to Washington. “I hope my presence here is felt, just in the sense that I’m dedicated to them just as they’ve been dedicated to me. The trade this offseason probably wasn’t the most popular one, but I love this city,” says Eaton. The outfielder remains signed through 2019 with reasonable club options for 2020 and 2021, so there will be time for him to contribute to the Nationals once he heals.
• The Red Sox’ signing of first baseman Mitch Moreland rather than Edwin Encarnacion looks like a good one, Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com writes. Moreland’s offense so far this season has been the best of his career — he’s currently batting .281/.382/.492 with 26 extra-base hits. Encarnacion, meanwhile, has hit .245/.351/.446 with Cleveland, although he’s hit well recently. Interestingly, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi tweeted today that Moreland turned down more money from the Indians to play for the Red Sox.
• With the arrival of this week’s amateur draft, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times ranks the Rays’ top choices in each year of their existence. It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the (Devil) Rays’ history that Topkin finds some brutal misses, including 2001 third overall pick Dewon Brazelton and 2005 eighth overall pick Wade Townsend (who the Rays selected from a star-studded class while Andrew McCutchen and Jay Bruce remained on the board). 2006 third overall pick Evan Longoria and 2007 first overall selection David Price were big successes, though, and 2003 first overall pick Delmon Young helped the Rays acquire Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett, leading to their first playoff berth.