Adam Eaton is heading back to Chicago. The veteran outfielder has reached an agreement on a one-year, $7 million deal with the White Sox, according to Chuck Garfien of NBC Sports. The deal includes a club option for 2022.
White Sox in agreement with free agent outfielder Adam Eaton, source tells @NBCSChicago. It's a 1-year, $7 million deal with a second year team option for $8.5 million.
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) December 8, 2020
Eaton, who turned 32 on Sunday, is a former 19th-round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent parts of two big-league seasons with Arizona before he was traded to Chicago in exchange for Hector Santiago. Eaton patrolled the Chicago outfield for three years before being traded to Washington in exchange for a powerful package that consisted of Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dane Dunning. The outfielder spent four years in Washington, including an impressive 2019 season that saw him play in 151 games en route to earning a World Series ring.
The Miami (Ohio) product appeared in 41 games last year, tallying 17 RBI on four home runs. He finished the year slashing .226/.285/.384, which all marked career-lows. He finished with -0.5 fWAR while adding 75 wRC+, a .287 wOBA, and .260 BABIP. Eaton also walked in 6.8 percent of at-bats while striking out 18.2 percent of the time, which were both the second-worst marks of his career.
Defensively, Eaton spent all of 2020 in right field, amassing a .988 fielding percentage. He will likely remain in right field with Chicago as Eloy Jiménez owns left field and Luis Robert patrols center.
The White Sox are evidently banking on a bounce-back campaign from Eaton, who has received MVP votes but never been selected to an All-Star team.
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