Denard Span Injury Update: Washington Nationals Outfielder Done For Season

Denard Span injury news is again negative for the Washington Nationals. Span, still dealing with a hip injury, will now have to undergo season-ending surgery. A report from CBS Sports states that everything is related to back and core injuries that he has been unable to shake this past season. He had surgery last offseason, with the hope of having a healthy 2015 MLB campaign, but it just didn’t turn out that way for him.

This is a huge loss for the Nationals, as Span was a great catalyst for the team at the top of the lineup. During his time on the disabled list this season, the Nationals struggled to manufacture runs, falling futher behind the New York Mets in the National League East standings. At last glance, the Nationals were still 6-and-a-half games out of first place with just over a month of games left to play.

The Denard Span injury hits the Washington Nationals really hard, even if he was putting up good stats under the radar again. Through 61 games this season, Span had a.301 batting averag, a.796 OPS, and 11 stolen bases to his credit. It was his best season at the plate so far, and many fantasy baseball owners had taken notice of how reliable he has become on offense. Now that comes to an end at a bad time for the Nationals.

It’s not a stretch to say that the Nationals needed Span back in order to make a serious run at the NL East title this season. Without him, the team lacks depth in the outfield, and most importantly, takes a huge hit in the everyday lineup. Recovering from losing a leadoff hitter is tough for any team, but nearly impossible to recover from if that team hasn’t been able to find consistent pitching either. It spells almost certain doom for the Nationals making a significant postseason run now.

As fantasy baseball owners are already well aware, Span is a free agent in the coming offseason. The 32-year-old outfielder needed a really good season in order to increase his value on the market, and this injury leaves a lot of question marks about what he can do next year. It’s now very possible that a team looks to sign Denard Span at a bargain, and that he might have to do a one-year contract to prove that he can still be a valuable asset to a new franchise.

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