The Chicago White Sox are continuing a fire sale on their key players, including outfielder Adam Eaton, who is on the move to the nation’s capital.
The White Sox announced they traded Eaton for pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning from the Washington Nationals.
Eaton finished last season with a .284 batting average and .362 on-base percentage. He also had 14 home runs, 14 stolen bases and a league-leading nine triples.
His performance at the plate, in the field and on the basepaths even earned him a vote for American League MVP, per Baseball-Reference.com, despite playing for the fourth-place White Sox.
The trade marks the second major deal for the organization after it dealt ace pitcher Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
The Nationals have been on the lookout for a center fielder to replace Ben Revere, who was non-tendered this offseason after producing just a .560 OPS in 103 games. The team is also interested in Pittsburgh Pirates star Andrew McCutchen, according to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball.
Eaton played mostly right field in 2016 but has played more games in center field throughout his career. Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer noted the difference between the two positions:
The 28-year-old is under contract at a reasonable cost through the 2021 season, including team options in each of the final two years of the current deal, per Doug Padilla of ESPN.com.
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