The Nationals have declined their 2021 options on right fielder Adam Eaton, right-hander Anibal Sanchez, first baseman Eric Thames and infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick, per a club announcement. Eaton’s five-year, $23.5MM deal contained club options for the 2020 season ($9.5MM) and the 2021 season ($10.5MM with a $1.5MM buyout). The Nats picked up his 2020 option last winter but will buy him out on the heels of a woeful season at the plate.
Sanchez’s two-year, $19MM deal with the Nats contained a $12MM club option with a $2MM buyout. Thames signed a one-year, $4MM deal last winter — one that came with a $4MM mutual option and a $1MM buyout. Kendrick’s $6.25MM deal with the Nats came with a $4MM salary in 2020 but a hefty $2.25MM buyout on a $6.5MM mutual option for 2021. All four players will be paid those buyouts and head back to the open market.
Eaton, 32 in December, was acquired in the blockbuster trade that sent pitching prospects Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning to the White Sox — all three of whom started games for the South Siders in 2020. Giolito has emerged as one of the game’s best young pitchers since the trade, but the others have yet to solidify themselves as consistent arms. (Dunning will surely get that chance in 2021.)
While Eaton’s time with the Nats ended with a whimper — he batted just .226/.285/.384 in 2020 — he was a key member of 2019’s World Series roster. Eaton appeared in 151 games with the Nats in that championship season, batting .279/.365/.428 with 15 homers, 25 doubles, seven triples and 15 steals. He had a quiet postseason before breaking out to go 8-for-25 with a pair of homers and four walks during the 2019 World Series.
From 2014-19, Eaton batted .289/.367/.423 with 51 homers, 133 doubles, 37 triples and 74 steals, and any club that signs him this winter will hope for a return to that level of productivity. He’s never won a Gold Glove — he very arguably should have in 2016 — but Eaton has a solid defensive reputation in right field. He’s unlikely to return to those 2016 heights that saw him log 27 Defensive Runs Saved and an 18.5 Ultimate Zone Rating in right field, but Eaton has a solid track record of above-average power, speed and glovework that should appeal to clubs at something less than the one-year, $10.5MM price point on which the Nats passed.
Sanchez, 37 in February, improbably revitalized his career for a second act when he latched on with the 2017 Braves at the end of Spring Training. Sanchez parlayed a brilliant rebound campaign with the Braves into a two-year, $19MM deal in D.C. and, like Eaton, provided considerable value to the World Champs in 2019. That season saw Sanchez rack up 166 innings of 3.85 ERA ball, and he went on to give the Nats 18 innings with a 2.50 ERA in the postseason — including a dominant, 7 2/3-inning scoreless effort against the Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLCS.
Unfortunately for Sanchez and the Nats, his 2020 season swung in the other direction. He pitched 53 innings and was tattooed for a 6.62 ERA in that time, but there’s no denying the crucial role he played in helping the Nats to their first World Series title.
Speaking of that World Series, Kendrick will go down in Nationals lore as perhaps the biggest hero of the whole season. His epic grand slam put away the Dodgers in the decisive Game 5 of the NLDS, and Kendrick again played savior when he banged what looked like a perfectly located pitch from Will Harris off the right foul pole to put the Nats on top over the Astros in Game 7 of the World Series.
Kendrick battled through injuries in his return to the Nats in 2020, however, taking just 100 plate appearances and posting a solid but unremarkable .275/.320/.385 slash in that time. Kendrick isn’t certain whether he’ll play again in 2020 or retire at this point, so he’ll take some time to ponder his future.
Thames inked a one-year deal with the Nats last winter but never really found his footing. He took 140 turns at the plate but managed only a .203/.300/.317 batting line in that small sample. The former KBO star slugged 72 homers in the three prior seasons with the Brewers, and he could fit on a club looking for a lefty bat that can platoon at first base or in the outfield corners. Given the scope of his 2020 struggles, he may need to earn his way onto a roster via a minor league deal, however.
Eaton and Howie. Thank you so, so much for the 2019 memories. Would gladly take both of them back.
There’s going to be a lot of this. I hope these guys were good with their money. A lot of fans aren’t coming back and the owners know it.
This is just the beginning. Kind of surprised about Eaton depite a down season but it seems the pandemic forced their hand.
Not surprised about Eaton. Bet they going after Springer or Ozuna.
I doubt that, they are going to replace Eaton with a cheaper option. Teams are cutting back payroll this offseason due to 2020 and the unknown in 2021.
Free agency is going to be very ugly for non superstar players.
Where did you read that the Nats are replacing him with a cheaper player? Nats saw how teams pitched Soto differently after Kendrick went down for the season. They cant afford to have poor protection behind Soto in ’21. For that reason, Anthony Rizzo, Springer, Ozuna, or Brantley would be good fits.
Howie Kendrick should be signed by the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays were interested last year, but he re-signed with the Nationals. The Rays needed Kendrick in the playoff. Arozarena was carrying the team on his back. I was going for the Rays to win the WS.
Eaton to Boston to replace jblu
Who is jblu ?
I assume that jblu is Jackie Bradley, especially since he is the only OF that is leaving.
Not a bad thought but I think Boston is looking for a RH bat in CF, with both Benny & Verdugo already being left handed (as was JBJ of course).
I agree, at least to the extent that he is a reasonable replacement for JBJ, should his price tag go beyond, say $20M/2. I think he can rebound, but the issue would be that neither he, nor Benni, nor Verdugo are true CFs, and all 3 are lefties. If we do sign either Eaton of jblu, then re-signing Pillar would make a lot of sense.
No way.
Cubs should be all over Eaton, he is everything the Cubs are missing in the offense. Cubs need to do more than Eaton but it would be a nice start.
Adam Eaton should be an offseason target of the Cubs, especially if they trade one of their outfielders this winter. LF Kyle Schwarber would seem the most likely since he can become a free agent following the 2021 season. Eaton could be a nice addition to the top of the Cubs batting order with his speed, high OBP and ability to make regular contact.
Both Chicago teams figure to be very interested in Eaton this offseason. The White Sox have a glaring hole in RF and also need a left-handed bat in their lineup to help balance off a lineup that leans heavily right-handed. The White Sox went an astounding 14-0 versus left-handed starting pitching during the 2020 regular season and their only postseason win came against a southpaw.
He was not well liked in the clubhouse during his previous tenure…..pass..
Does anyone know if option buy-outs count against a team’s CBT? I’m quite sure if you agree to a buyout of an active contract (like Dustin Pedroia for example) then that does not count as a CBT expense in the current year but I could be wrong.
Buyouts were already included in the CBT since it is guaranteed money when they signed the extension.
So the answer is No, the buyout is not added to the 2021 CBT payroll,
Somebody can explain this much better than me, you kind of get the drift though.
This is correct. Option buyouts are considered part of the contract’s guaranteed portion, since they are paid out no matter what. A two-year, $20MM deal could pay the player $9MM in each season and include a $2MM buyout on a third-year option. That buyout is factored in when the contract’s AAV is valued at $10MM.
Got it, thank you so much!
In your example if the 3 rd year was 10 M and the club takes the option, in that 3 rd year only 8 M count to the CBT payroll ?
Correct.
All four not far removed from productive 2019 seasons. Cut to save money, but all will land elsewhere. Eaton has been showing signs of trending down before collapsing this year.
Wow, has anyone’s option been picked up yet? Owners showing a unified front right now after Manfred’s statement about the debt teams had.
I thought Eaton’s would have been picked up. He is a bargain for one year at $10 million if healthy.
Marlins picked up Marte’s option.
None of the option buyouts have registered as much of a surprise thus far. I don’t see this as any form of unified stance; I don’t think any of these would’ve been picked up even without revenue losses.
Saying Eaton is a bargain when healthy overlooks both the fact that he averaged 90 games per season in D.C. from 2017-19 and that he was mostly healthy in 2020 but still played poorly.
The Marlins picked up Marte’s $12M option earlier today. Seems to be the only ‘big name’ one so far.
Marlins picked up Marte.
Star players should be fine. It’s the level down who are being declined.
Thanks guys, completely missed the Marte option news. Leave it to the Marlins to not look cheap for once.
Marte to the Mets for a couple of pitching prospects?
By my count the Nats now have only 12 position players remaining on their 40-man roster.
The White Sox now have another potential RF option in left-handed hitting Adam Eaton who posted a 6.6 bWAR for them in 2016, his final season on the south side of Chicago. Eaton was traded later that December to the Nationals for three top pitching prospects to help kick off the White Sox rebuild. Lucas Giolito is now the ace of the White Sox pitching staff. Dane Dunning figures to be a mainstay in their rotation after making a solid MLB debut this past season. Reynaldo Lopez also remains on the White Sox MLB roster and could vie for a rotation spot, transition to a late inning bullpen role or become a useful trade piece later this offseason.
He’s no longer that same player. Not even close. He’s worth a shot, but I wouldn’t expect anywhere near 2016 production. Bat, defense and health all declined.
Adam Eaton is only 9 months older than top free agent outfielder George Springer. Eaton’s advantage to the White Sox over Springer is his high contact left-handed bat, his superior experience in RF and the fact that he figures to be a much cheaper FA option with no qualifying offer attached to him.
Both players have World Series rings with Eaton’s more recent and coming with less taint. Eaton does have more of an injury history but Springer hasn’t exactly been exempt from health issues either.
Eaton was a fan favorite on the southside of Chicago but reportedly wasn’t nearly as popular in their clubhouse. Of course, that was when Eaton was an outspoken younger player on a veteran team that was still very much “mired in mediocrity” back in 2016 and during his previous two seasons with the White Sox. He was pals with another younger fan favorite in Chris Sale before both were traded in December of 2016 to kick off the White Sox rebuild.
Such a steal of a deal for the White Sox! I couldn’t believe that deal when it happened and it looks even worse now.
Flags fly forever. The price was steep, but I’d guess that both sides are happy with how that deal worked out.
The Nationals made the deal to win the world series. and they did. this was a successful deal for both teams.
Nats need a rebuild. That offense is horrendous and wont compete even with Soto.
They finished 6th in scoring, while getting nothing from Thames, Kieboom, and Robles. They’ll get a new 1B, and should get positive regression from Kieboom and Robles.
I know this isn’t the point of the article but I was looking at Eaton’s career stats and WOW in 2016 he had 18 OF Assists — that’s really impressive and I didn’t realize he had ever had that many in a season before. Obviously he hasn’t replicated that kind of success since then but still quite impressive (15 in RF and 3 in CF)
I wouldn’t be surprised if Howie ends up back with Washington at a lower rate.
That would be great.
Very thankful for everything those guys have done, especially in 2019. Only one I would consider bringing back is Howie for a one year deal. My guess is Nats target Ozuna or Springer this offseason. One to two bats away from being contenders again
Since they let wong go, wouldnt mind seeing the cards maybe give him a call. Thames might be an interesting buy low if the dh stay in th nl
Eaton is a bit puzzling. Not that he’s worth that money, more because of the prospect haul that they gave up for him and he’s perform ok enough to want to squeeze a little more out of him seems reasonable. Whatever… looks like they are hitting a bit of a possible rebuild especially eating all those buyouts. Be interesting to see what this offseason turns for them