What happened to Jeimer Candelario? Nationals slugger exits game vs. Mets early

Washington Nationals' top trade piece Jeimer Candelario was injured during the game against the New York Mets and was forced to leave the game early.

He has been having a good season thus far and was the subject of many trade discussions. It appeared to be an arm injury that could derail many, if not all, of these trade discussions.

Candelario is a talented first and third baseman with 16 home runs for the season and a .253 batting average so far. He is a plug-and-play talent that would fit on nearly any roster in baseball. All of this makes him the perfect player to acquire for a playoff push.

Laura Albanese was the first to report that Candelario went down after a collision with Jeff McNeil.

"Jeimer Candelario in significant pain after a collision with Jeff McNeil at second base" - Laura Albanese

Below is a video of the play where the injury occurred. It doesn't look like much but Candelario is clearly in pain almost immediately.

"It seems like Candelario was fine until he grabbed the umpire's leg while trying to steady himself" - Matthew Ritchie

If this injury knocks Candelario out of action for anything more than a couple weeks, the MLB trade deadline could look wildly different.

Jeimer Candelario's injury against the Mets is a disaster for the Nationals

The Washington Nationals have been planning to sell at the trade deadline for a long time, probably before the season even started. Now that the time has come, they may be without the best player they can offer.

This will also likely derail the season that Candelario has been having, his best since leaving the Detroit Tigers.

The trade deadline is now only a few days away, and any complications this close could scare off teams. Furthermore, there are plenty of talented players still available, and the Nationals may miss out on making any deals.