The Washington Nationals acquired outfielder Adam Eaton from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday in exchange for right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito, right-handed pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, and Minor League right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Eaton, 28, is a career .284 hitter with a .357 on-base percentage and a .414 slugging percentage batting primarily out of the leadoff spot over his five seasons in the Major Leagues. The Nationals are the third Major League stop for Eaton, who made his MLB debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012 and was acquired by the White Sox in December, 2013, as part of a three-team trade with the Los Angeles Angels and Diamondbacks.
Playing in 157 games for the White Sox in 2016, Eaton hit .284, reached base at a .362 clip, and slugged .428 -- clubbing 29 doubles, nine triples, and 14 home runs with a career-best 59 RBI. He ranked first in the American League in triples, infield hits (30) and bunt hits (10). Eaton posted a 73.6 stolen base percentage in 2016 (14-for-19).
With a .362 on-base percentage over the past three seasons (the ninth-best mark in the American League), Eaton posted the 11th-best Fangraphs WAR in the Major Leagues in 2016 (6.0).
A Gold Glove finalist in 2016, Eaton led Major League Baseball with 18 outfield assists, the most by a Chicago outfielder since Jim Rivera (22) and Minnie Minoso (19) in 1955. Serving primarily as a right fielder in 2016, Eaton posted the best Ultimate Zone Rating in the American League (23.1), and his 25.5 UZR 150 ranked tops in MLB, ahead of Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward (22.4). Outfield versatility, though, has been a hallmark of Eaton's Major League career as he has played 365 games in center field, 125 in right field and 37 in left field.
Giolito, 22, was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in six Major League games. The Nationals' first-round selection in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft (No. 16 overall), Giolito went 6-5 with a 2.97 ERA in 22 Minor League starts across three levels of Washington's system in 2016. Entering the season rated as the Nationals' best prospect -- and the No. 5 prospect in MLB by Baseball America -- Giolito began the year with Double-A Harrisburg and had his contract selected on June 28, making his MLB debut that night against the New York Mets.
Lopez, 22, went 5-3 with a 4.91 ERA in 11 games (six starts) for the Nationals in his rookie season. In 19 starts between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse, Lopez was 5-7 with a 3.21 ERA and represented the Nationals at the 2016 MLB Futures Game. Signed by Washington as a non-drafted free agent in June, 2012, Lopez entered the season as the 93rd ranked prospect in the game per Baseball America and moved to No. 48 in their mid-season update. The Dominican Republic-native made his MLB debut on July 19 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, recording nine strikeouts in 4.2 innings, the second-most in an MLB debut in Nationals history (2005-present). A month later, on Aug. 18 at Atlanta, Lopez became just the fourth rookie in Nationals history to post a double-digit strikeout game (11).
Dunning, 21, was selected by Washington in the first round (No. 29) of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida. After signing with the Nationals, Dunning went 3-2 with a 2.02 ERA in eight Minor League starts. He began his professional career with the Gulf Coast League Nationals before being promoted to short-season Single-A Auburn for the remainder of the season.