Adam Eaton left the White Sox in 2016 with the reputation of a valuable performer who would be missed on the field.
In the clubhouse? Not so much.
Eaton was brought back to the Sox, officially on Thursday a couple of days after it became known he — not the more expensive George Springer or perhaps Michael Brantley — would be their primary right fielder in 2021, and he says he’s a different guy.
Not that Eaton was a bad guy. No one ever said that. He just rubbed some, not all, the wrong way at times. There was a skirmish with former Sox teammate Todd Frazier and a some other things Eaton said — including one about Adam La Roche’s son, which Eaton says was misunderstood — that probably left some rooting for Frazier in said altercation.
Dealt to the Nationals in a 2016 Winter Meetings rebuild trade that netted a nice catch of right-handers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning — who was traded for Lance Lynn Tuesday — Eaton is back in town. And at 32, and wearing a World Series ring won with the Nats in 2019, he suggested his eyes are open wider to matters that perhaps mean more than they did in his 20s.
“It’s four years later, I’m 32 years old, a World Series champ and I’ve got two little boys,” Eaton said Thursday. “And everyone matures differently and at different stages of their life. And I feel like I’m no different.”
“In terms of any concerns with clubhouse fit, I know that’s out there,” general manager Rick Hahn said after the Sox announced the signing, for $7 million for next season with a $8.5 million club option in 2022 that comes with a $1 million buyout. “I know that narrative is out there. It really isn’t a concern for those of us who were with Adam during his first tenure with the White Sox, much less those of us who have been around this clubhouse over the last few years. Adam, as those of you who know him personally know, he plays with an edge. He’s got a chip on his shoulder.”
Teammates in Washington have spoken favorably of Eaton as a teammate. Perhaps it was the bonding with them at the many family gatherings the players held, which Eaton spoke so favorably of Thursday, that made a difference.
“There were a number of things that transformed me,” he said, “to realize that the team is number one, the players within the team are right up there with it and you want to take care of one another, play for each other and win a championship at the end.”
The Sox are positioned to win a championship and Hahn appears satisfied having the left-handed hitting Eaton in right field, perhaps in a platoon with right-handed hitting Adam Engel at a position where Hahn’s Nomar Mazara experiment failed badly in 2020. Eaton’s numbers in the 60-game 2020 season paled to his career marks, a .226/.285/.384 slash line with four home runs, 17 RBI and 22 runs scored in 41 games. He missed the last two weeks with a broken finger.
A career .282/.360/.775 hitter, Eaton batted .320 with two home runs and six RBI to help the Nationals defeat the Astros in seven games in the 2019 World Series. A finalist for the Gold Glove Award in 2016 as a right fielder and in 2014 as a center fielder, his defensive metrics slipped last season as well.
“In 60 games it was kind of a mental battle for me,” Eaton said. “Usually I start slow but in a 162-game schedule, you can pick that up and evolve, making good adjustments. But it’s been a tough year on me, and I wasn’t real thrilled with it. But I’m happy Chicago has confidence in me to bounce back and hopefully produce for the team.”
