Royals Outright Nate Eaton

The Royals have sent outfielder Nate Eaton outright to Triple-A Omaha, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.

Eaton, who will turn 27 in December, has been serving as a depth outfielder with the Royals since being added to the roster in the second half of 2022. He was put into 72 big league games since that time but hasn’t hit much. He currently sports a batting line of .201/.266/.283 in 178 plate appearances, going down on strikes 28.7% of the time, but he has stolen 14 bases and his defense is generally regarded well.

Players with three years of service time or a previous career outright can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. But neither of those criteria apply to Eaton, so he will stick with the Royals as some non-roster outfield depth. He will likely receive an invitation to major league Spring Training, where he will try to earn his way back into the mix.