3:41pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Nats are close to getting Eaton from the White Sox. Top outfield prospect Victor Robles is not in the deal, he adds.
3:35pm: The White Sox are working on a trade that would send outfielder Adam Eaton to the Nationals, reports MLB.com’s Scott Merkin (on Twitter).
Acquiring Eaton won’t be cheap for the Nationals. The 28-year-old is coming off a brilliant season in which he batted .284/.362/.428 with 14 homers and 14 stolen bases while delivering arguably the best right-field defense of any player in the Majors. Both Fangraphs and Baseball Reference pegged Eaton’s season at six wins above replacement, and on top of that, he’s controllable through the 2021 season for a total of $38.4MM (although only $19.9MM of that figure is guaranteed, as the remainder comes in the form of club options).
The Nationals are known to be in the market for a center fielder and have been connected to Andrew McCutchen on numerous occasions, but Eaton would give them a younger, cheaper and more controllable option to plug into center field. While there are certainly some questions about Eaton’s work in center — the very reason he was in right field was that the ChiSox moved him there after adding what they felt to be a better defensive center fielder — the same questions exist about McCutchen. Eaton would only need to play center for one year in D.C., as Jayson Werth is a free agent next winter, creating a corner vacancy for Eaton to slide into.
Acquiring Eaton would definitively push rising star Trea Turner back to his natural position of shortstop, and it would also give a right-leaning Nationals lineup a left-handed bat to hit atop the order and provide some balance.
As for the White Sox, an Eaton trade would likely return at least one MLB-ready component to offset some of the lost value from the departure of their best position player. It’d also further signal that a full-scale rebuild is in effect on the South Side of Chicago.
good!!!
This would be a very interesting move. I like the fit but want to see what they have to give up. 5 years of Eaton will be expensive.
Good for the Nats. Get better without losing their top 2 prospects.
I would bet either Giolito or Robles would have to be in the deal for it to work, likely Robles
You think you’re getting 5 years of a 6 win player on a cheap contract without using your top prospects?
He’s a 6-WAR player under control for 5 seasons at a relatively low price. They won’t have to give up Turner, obviously, but this package is going to cost at least Giolito or Robles – and maybe both.
3:41pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Nats are close to getting Eaton from the White Sox. Top outfield prospect Victor Robles is not in the deal, he adds.
What makes you think they can get Eaton without giving up their top 2 prospects? Eaton was worth more than Sale last year, has two more years of control, and is cheaper. Nats would be lucky to get him without giving up BOTH Giolito and Robles.
How do you know they will not lose Giolito or Robles? Eaton has a ton of value. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this go something like Giolito (or Lopez) and Robles (or Lopez) and a couple fliers for Eaton & Robertson.
Lol what makes you think that? This will take at least 1 of the 2, most likely both…
3:41pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Nats are close to getting Eaton from the White Sox. Top outfield prospect Victor Robles is not in the deal, he adds.
Soooo Giolito is still on the table…
soooo it’s not “most likely both”
and Giolito is going to the Sox…
But it’s at least 1…
Jesus Christ! Are the Cardinals going to do anything or just be the same old carinas and lose out on everyone?
Hard to complain after 15 years of success of ‘missing out’
Waddya mean? Nats were one of only two maybe three possible destinations for Fowler. Dexter’s going to the Cards most likely now.
I dont know about that.. Ian Desmond juts got 70 million. Fowler should get paid more now and I dont see the Cardinals going higher than 60 for him. MO go out and sign Encarnacion to play 1B shift Carp back to 3B and get a speedy Dyson in CF.
Depends on AAV. Desmond got $14m a year, which isn’t that outrageous. Fowler might be gettable for 4/68 rather than Desmond’s 5/70.
Im sure Fowlers camp will shoot for 4/75 now
I love listening to and reading the panicking desperation of Cardinals fans as they watch their team continue to slide into irrelevance. As a Cub fan, bout d**n time. The Cardinals have been on top for long enough. Time for you all to appreciate the top and have a solid decade+ of mediocrity.
(Seriously though, what the f*** are the Cardinals doing….. or should I say NOT doing. They can’t be overly thrilled with what they’re trotting out on the field everyday and having to put in their lineup. How many .300 OBP guys can one team tolerate? Of the 11 guys on that team with the most ABs in 2016, 7 of them had sub-330 OBPs. Pathetic. Then there is their whole rotation mess. I don’t think Reyes can start every other day with Martinez. Such a mess down there. It’s like they are really indifferent to success. But hey, at least they nabbed Cecil……. to a huge contract)
I’d much rather have Eaton over Fowler
Cards still asleep just like last offseason
Each passing day, Fowler return to Cubs?
NO! Why do my fellow Cubs fans have such a hard d**n time of letting players go? It’s ridiculous…… and embarrassing. Tell me how signing Fowler benefits this team? Zobrist, Schwarber, Almora, Jay will all be fighting for time in left field then. PLEASE for the love of God can my fellow Cub fans at least think this sh** through before they post another da** thing about the Cubs possibly bringing back Fowler. IT’S NOT HAPPENING!!!!!. I think Hoyer and Theo can do a press conference solely for the purpose of telling the homer section of the cub fanbase that they aren’t bringing back Fowler……… and that homer fanbase will still think there is a chance they bring back Fowler.
The portion of Cubs fans yearning for a Fowler return remind me of Lloyd Christmas from dumb and dumber. Picture this scene being them discussing a Fowler return. Lloyd is the moronic section of Cub fans wanting Fowler back and Mary is Hoyer/Epstein desperately trying to let them down easy because she knows how fragile their simple minds are.
youtube.com/watch?v=KX5jNnDMfxA
Relax im sure hes kidding
Meanwhile the Jays are sitting around twiddling their thumbs. They could really use this guy in right
The jays don’t have the prospect capital to acquire eaton. They don’t have anyone near as highly rated as Robles, Giolioto or even Lopez.
I’d love to see Eaton in TO too but realistically, the Jays lack that high end “can’t miss” headliner that other teams have. The Jays prospect pool has alright depth and could offer quite a bit of quantity but lack that high end quality.
The Jays top 3 prospects(Urena, Reid-Foley and Alford) are all in the 75-85 range on most MLB prospect rankings. And in the case of Alford, his value dropped due to injuries and regression with the bat.
Nationals working on XYZ trade is a daily headline on here
Don’t worry, I’m just waiting on the headline stating that some other team “swooped’ in to take him off the table. The Nationals are losers!
This is probably going to cost a ton in terms of prospects.
They lost their closer, lost out on Sale…are they giving up on McCutchen as well? If they get this done I’d have to think so. Are can they still try to land him? Doesn’t seem realistic to me. If they do not get McCutchen will the Pirates still trade him? Seems like it would be weird to keep him now.
I expect the Pirates to flip Mccuthen to either the Yankees, Dodgers or even The Bluejays
Or just keep him. Sounds like their asking price is crazy.
Yes, I hear they are asking a lot. I don’t understand why they’d want so much for a guy who had a down year compared to his normal stats. He may bounce back and I think he will but nobody ever knows. Sometimes these guys just fall off a cliff out of nowhere. Their best bet would be to hang on to him and hope he does great the first half then ask for a lot for him at the trade deadline which would justify asking a lot for him but asking for a lot right now doesn’t make sense to me. Maybe I’m wrong though..just my thought on it.
As a Dodgers fan I wouldn’t mind getting the guy but I am nervous that he might just fall off a cliff. I think the Blue Jays will bring back Joey Bats and will be done adding. I can see the Yankees, Mariners or Rangers possibly. What do you think?
they have Adam Eaton now, why would they need McCutchen now!!!
why would they need McCutchen now!!!
Knew it. My guess is Reynaldo Lopez .
Lopez would be only a start in acquiring Eaton.
Who’s going to swoop in this time?
Probably the Cardinals. Sox will use the Nats again to say they are close to a deal and reveal the package so they get what they want from someone else.
Not sure I get this, but maybe I’m not terribly informed on Harper. Is he a poor defensive RF? So much of Eaton’s value is tied to his defense in RF. That’s lost in LF. And despite playing CF prior to last year, he’s not very good at it.
This deal only makes sense if the Nats plan to shift Harper to LF. Is that something Nats fans see happening?
No, Harper is great in RF. I think Eaton would play CF until Werth is gone next year.
That’s a lazy narrative that keeps getting repeated. He’s nowhere near as bad in CF as 2015 made it look. He had a god awful year for some reason (the whole team did – most likely a Robin issue), but the year before that he put up 1.8 dWAR in CF, which is the same amount he put up in RF this year. Personally, I’d prefer to keep him in right, but I would have no issue putting him back in center.
And the last 3 years he has put up oWAR’s of 4.1, 5.4, and 3.8. Obviously playing great defense helps add to his value, as it does with everybody, but he’s VERY good with the bat.
Depending on which sites you prescribe to… Baseball Reference is higher on Eaton in CF than Fangraphs… they’re also lower on him in RF than Fangraphs. So your 1.8 dWAR is correct in that regard, but Fangraphs paints a different picture of Eaton in CF vs RF
RF UZR in 2016 – (22.5)
CF UZR in 2015 – (-10.2)
CF UZR in 2014 – (-3.3)
CF UZR in 2013 – (-10)
RF DRS in 2016 – (20)
CF DRS in 2015 – (-14)
CF DRS in 2014 – (14)
CF DRS in 2013 – (-2)
I’ll also use the eye test from watching Eaton. He took terrible routes on balls in CF. He seemed much more comfortable reading the ball off the bat from RF.
I don’t disagree that he seemed much more comfortable in right, and like I said, I personally would keep him there. But that’s fine. Even with those numbers, it shows that he wasn’t really good in CF in 2014 like bb=ref said, but he was nowhere near as bad as he was in 2015, which I agree was absolutely brutal. I believe he’ll be fine in CF.
And he only played 30 games in CF in 2013, so I’d take that year with a grain of salt.
I guess the Mets are sleeping on this one….sigh……..
Who would the Mets offer? Rosario?
Every trade offer the Mets try to make is counter with “Rosario”. No thanks.
Interesting, Does that leave Quintana for the Astros?
Nats would get a great hustler, good eye contact hitter – enjoyed watching him play on the Southside – he’s a winner in my book.
Eaton won’t come cheap. But will be a fantastic addition to the Nats.
I think it’s a pointless one at that price though. They would be better suited to use those prospects to get Quintana and just sign Fowler. I get that he’s good, but there are plenty of other ways to go with hitters.
The Pirates dun goofed, as usual.
Hahn is making a huge mistake if Robles isn’t coming back IMO, even if they do get Giolito or Lopez instead.
Interesting that Robles is not part of the deal…
The Jays need hitting, consistent hitting, like Eaton provides.. yet they are connected to Bautista??? I’d give-up some “farm” for this consistency in RF…
Don’t get why they wouldn’t just sign Fowler. Strange time to make a big trade for a CF when a really good one is still on the FA market.
I’d rather have Eaton and his contract/control than have to pay market rate for Fowler. I can’t remember if Fowler was given a QO, if he was then it’s a pick as well and forget it.
He did get a QO so i agree with you to not sign him. Why give up the opportunity to draft another Giolito just to have a slightly above-average OF for a few years
I would expect one of Giolito or Robles to be involved, but the White Sox did get a somewhat underwhelming package for Sale
They got the top prospect in all of baseball, plus Koepech. Doesn’t get much better there.
Sounds like a disappointed Nats fan that didn’t get Sale. Lol
I’m a Phillies fan, and one elite, and one pretty good prospect isn’t enough for 3 cheap years of a top 10 pitcher lol. If they could have got Robles/Giolito, it would have been better
Robles is a great prospect, but hasn’t proven himself above A-ball. Giolito, like Moncada, struggled a bit in the majors, but Giolito has an injury history. The Nats package *may* have had higher total upside, but the Sox got what they think is the surer deal.
lol underwhelming package
Not so fast. Sounds like Cards got him instead. Nationals may have money, but no one wants to play for them. Bryce Harper will be on his way as soon as he can go to a desired team.
Another OF option for the Cards off the board lol.
If Robles isn’t in the deal, I’m hoping the Cards swoop in like Boston did on Sale.
The White Sox would want Reyes, but I don’t know if the Cards have the other pieces to pull it off. Your second best prospect is a 2B/SS and the Sox are already set there with Anderson and Moncada.
I think they could’ve made something work without Reyes. Something along the lines of Bader + Kelly + a pitcher. I know they REALLY want a solid young catcher, so I think his value to them would’ve been much higher than his actual prospect ranking. From what I’ve heard though, the Cardinals love Kelly, so I’m assuming they weren’t willing to move him.
Now, it looks like its gonna be Fowler. Personally, Im not excited for that
He’d be a very solid pickup IMO (as an outsider looking in). Just sucks to lose the pick before the new CBA kicks in.
Nationals going hard to catch and surpass the World Champion Cubs
Hmm. So if they get Eaton, where does Trea Turner play? Move him to short and Espinosa to the bench?
Espinoza is a trade candidate probably
Using WAR factoring in playing in CF and expected decline, Eaton is gonna give you conservatively $80M-$95M surplus value. IMO, looking at the Nats prospects, I wouldn’t make the trade if Robles isn’t in the deal.
Agreed. Personally, I wouldn’t do it if I was Hahn. But we’ll see.
If this actually goes through, I wouldn’t be surprised if it came out that the Pirates asked for a similar haul for McCutchen. If the asking price on Eaton was the same (or maybe one prospect more) as McCutchen, I don’t really blame the Nats for making this move. Cutch comes with the pedigree of a former MVP and a more established bat, but Eaton comes with control and the ability to play defense at an above average level (at least based on metrics).
It sounds like it’s already less than what the Pirates wanted for Cutch. They were asking for Giolito and Robles, and Robles isn’t included in this. Obviously, it depends on the other pieces involved, but if it is Giolito and few lesser prospects as opposed to like Giolito and Ross plus some, it could be a much better deal than Cutch.
Eaton for Lopez, Fedde, Taylor, Severino
Sox aren’t going to give up arguably their best player (Eaton had a higher WAR than Sale last year) on an even more team-friendly contract and not walk away with at least Giolito or Robles as the headliner.
Gonna be awkward at Pirates Fest on Saturday.
As a Marlins fan, I’m glad the Nationals made this trade. Gave up far too much for a good player. Package of players they gave up should of gotten a return similar to Chris Sale.