We gotta show up tomorrow ready to Eaton somebody’s face!

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The Nationals pulled of a huge trade to rock day three of the Winter Meetings as they acquired Adam Eaton from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning.  This trade was costly in terms of prospects, but the Nationals get a proven outfielder that has that domino effect to allow Trea Turner to move back to shortstop.

“We gotta show up tomorrow ready to eat on somebody’s face,” Jayson Werth said back in 2013. 

That Werth quote is old, but it applies to Adam Eaton who Mike Rizzo says is a 100% all the time player, high energy with an edge to him, 100 miles-per-hour with his hair on fire, and Rizzo likes his make-up, his attitude, and his positional flexibility.

“This guy, he’s not afraid to get dirty, grimy, greasy, nasty,” Dusty Baker said about Eaton. “[He will] do everything there is to beat you.”

There is a lot to like about the addition without regard to losing three key prospects. Eaton immediately makes this roster better in terms of athleticism, grit, attitude, defense, and the ability to get on base and cause some havoc. Eaton celebrated his 28th birthday yesterday, and brings a cost controlled five years of team control to the Nationals through his age 32 season.

Eaton’s +6.2 bWAR will just add to this potent line-up where he showed a much better hitting eye taking more walks and decreasing his strikeouts which will fit in perfectly at the top or bottom of this line-up.

The Nationals in this trade dealt their #1, #3 and #6 prospects:

“He’s a tough out,” GM Mike Rizzo said. “He grinds out at-bats. He rarely swings and misses. He puts up a good at-bat when needed.”

Rizzo makes some good points about Eaton being a tough out, and putting up a good at-bat when needed. Eaton got up to the plate 135 times this season with RISP (runners in scoring position) and he only struck out 13 times and equaled that 13 times where he walked.

What will this line-up look like? What will positional flexibility look like?

  1. Eaton CF
  2. Turner SS
  3. Murphy 2B
  4. Rendon 3B
  5. Harper RF
  6. Werth LF
  7. Zimmerman 1B
  8. Norris C

What happens if Ryan Zimmerman is moved to the bench?

  1. Adam Eaton LF
  2. Trea Turner SS
  3. Daniel Murphy 2B
  4. Anthony Rendon 3B
  5. Bryce Harper RF
  6. Jayson Werth 1B
  7. Andrew Stevenson CF
  8. Derek Norris C

The Nationals cashflow payroll is now at $149 million after the Eaton acquisition, and this trade puts the Nationals’ 40-man roster at 37 players.

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