Adam Eaton was in remarkably high spirits Tuesday afternoon for someone with his left ankle in a cast and crutches by his side. The Washington Nationals outfielder finally had certainty. He finally knew why that piercing pain in his ankle wouldn’t go away.  It came last week, when — after three doctors, two MRI exams and a bone scan over the past month — arthroscopic surgery revealed a chondral flap as the source of his discomfort.

For most baseball players, the news would’ve been devastating. For Eaton, whose Nationals career consists of 31 games in 14 months, it provided clarity and relief.

“I’m pumped,” Eaton said while sitting at his locker in the Nationals’ clubhouse.

The Nationals won’t delve into timetables publicly, but Eaton floated one himself: He’s hoping to return six weeks after the procedure, which would mean a return in late June.

“We’re in the best-case scenario possible,” the 29-year-old Eaton said. “I have fixed the bone. I have fixed my knee. I feel great. I’m so excited that the next six weeks, my plan, the next six weeks is to get strong and ready. I can never be in a better place right now, for me, mentally and physically. I have answers on both ends.”

The saga began more than a year ago, when Eaton slipped lunging for first base at Nationals Park on April 28. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament on the play, effectively ending his season, and the knee became the focus of an arduous rehab. But Eaton also hurt his left ankle, though the Nationals downplayed that damage publicly. It wasn’t until Tuesday that Eaton revealed, for the first time, that he dislocated it and “shattered everything besides the bones.”

While the knee improved over the offseason, Eaton said his ankle “wasn’t moving properly.” The problem was concerning enough for a Nationals training staff member to visit him to examine it. He said it then began making some progress. He was able to run but it remained uncomfortable through spring training and the early part of the season, which he began by being named the National League player of the week (in the season’s shortened first week) after going 8 for 13 in three games against the Cincinnati Reds.

“I continued to have struggles running, as you guys could tell,” Eaton said. “It wasn’t picture perfect. I didn’t run well before, but it was prettier than what I was showing. We come into the season, again, getting by, continuing working on my ankle literally every day. Try to get it to move. It’s not moving. It’s stagnant.”

The stiffness became unbearable pain when he ran first-to-home in the Nationals’ home opener on April 5. Eaton said he isn’t sure exactly when it happened — whether during his sprint or his slide — but scar tissue in the ankle broke up on the play. That scar tissue was keeping the dime-sized bone flap down, which created a bone bruise. Without it, the flap’s friction created worse pain.

Eaton explained MRI scans didn’t pick up on the problem because it was so small and would only flare up when he was active — either running or walking. The discomfort would come and go. Sometimes he’d run without a problem. Other times, he couldn’t stand up. He was placed on the disabled list six days later after playing in eight games.

“It was going to happen one way or another,” said Eaton, who was moved to the 60-day disabled list last weekend and isn’t eligible to return until June 8. “That bone was going to surface one way or another. It’s just a tough draw because I’ve had it for a year, but with that scar tissue it protected it and when we broke that scar tissue up, it came to fruition with the pain. Again, we did everything we could.”

Eaton believes that’s all finally behind him. He is sure they’ve discovered and eliminated the problems from that tumble last April. His knee feels good. His ankle was fixed. Now he wants to push things. The cast was scheduled to come off later Tuesday, and he wants to begin baseball activities — throwing and hitting — within the next week. He’ll be two weeks into his recovery period by then. He envisions another month before he’s back in uniform. The thought has him giddy.

Notes: Daniel Murphy traveled back to West Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday to begin playing in extended spring training games, Manager Dave Martinez said. Murphy spent a couple weeks last month at the Nationals facility in West Palm Beach, where he accumulated at-bats in games but wasn’t a full participant in games before returning to Washington. This time, he’ll play in games fully, playing in field and running the bases.

Murphy, 33, underwent microfracture knee surgery on his right knee in October. He had spent the last couple weeks with the Nationals, continuing his rehab with the team’s medical and training staff eyes on him, and made significant progress with his running, the last obstacle in his rehab, during Washington’s recent West Coast road trip.

“I know in Arizona he started running really well so we were excited about that,” Martinez said. “So we sent him off and hopefully he’s going to start playing here soon.”

YANKEES (28-12)
Aaron Hicks CF
Aaron Judge RF
Giancarlo Stanton LF
Gary Sanchez C
Didi Gregorius SS
Tyler Austin 1B
Miguel Andujar 3B
Masahiro Tanaka RHP
Gleyber Torres 2B

NATIONALS (24-18)
Trea Turner SS
Bryce Harper RF
Anthony Rendon 3B
Matt Adams LF
Howie Kendrick 2B
Mark Reynolds 1B
Andrew Stevenson CF
Pedro Severino C
Gio Gonzalez LHP