If the Lance Lynn move upgraded the rotation while allowing the White Sox to deploy money elsewhere, they have a funny way of showing it.
One day after Jeff Passan told White Sox fans to shelve their hopes of George Springer, Chuck Garfien explained why this morning, breaking the news of Adam Eaton signing a one-year, $7 million deal to return to right field at 35th and Shields. There's a 2022 club option for $8.5 million, with a $1 million buyout.
At his peak, Eaton would offer everything the White Sox need -- strong OBP with some pop from the left side, and above-average right field defense. He gave that to the White Sox, and most of that to the Nationals, at least through 2019.
There are just two problems:
No. 1: Eaton, who just turned 32, is a high wear-and-tear player coming off a .226/.285/.384 season with the Nationals, which, paired with defense that's languished a little below average with Washington since tearing his ACL in 2017, led to him being below replacement level last year. His season started with a hamstring strain during the first spring training, and ended in mid-September after fracturing his finger on a bunt attempt.
No. 2: Eaton, while a great player with the White Sox, was always less popular among teammates and media than he was with fans. The Hyde side eventually emerged when he called 13-year-old Drake LaRoche a team leader and fought with Todd Frazier in the clubhouse. A change of scenery served him well, because although he occasionally showed his ass -- poorly defending Trea Turner's homophobic remarks, pretending to have a mortgage when the Frazier beef resurfaced, defending low pay for minor leaguers -- it didn't derail the Nationals from winning a World Series, in which Eaton was a vital contributor.
Eaton might be a decent rebound candidate, but the Sox generally get what they pay for in free agency. Specific to this player and juncture, they haven't been deep enough, whether in terms of talent or leadership ranks, to absorb somebody with Eaton's issues. On paper, he doesn't seem like a solution for this White Sox team. Given that Chuck Garfien dropped a podcast that preemptively defended such a move on Monday, I'm guessing the White Sox know you think this, too.
(Photo by Ian D'Andrea)
