The latest South Side reunion is official.
The White Sox announced Thursday what had been reported earlier in the week: that Adam Eaton is back on a free-agent deal. The one-year contract is worth $7 million for 2021, with a club option for 2022 worth $8.5 million.
News that Eaton is coming back to the White Sox — who traded him four years ago in one of the three major trades that powered the early stages of their rebuilding project — hasn't sat well with many fans, who have not forgotten the way his first stint on the South Side ended.
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Eaton was one of the featured players in a dysfunctional 2016 season that sent the team into a full-scale rebuild in the first place. Eaton said the team "lost a leader" when the 14-year-old Drake LaRoche left the White Sox clubhouse. He reportedly "came to blows" with teammate Todd Frazier later that year.
Since, though, Eaton has won a World Series with the Washington Nationals, playing a starring role in the Fall Classic as a productive playoff performer. He returns to a White Sox team in a vastly different spot than it was in four years ago, with what is hoped to be a lengthy championship window officially open ahead of a 2021 campaign with World Series expectations.
More than how Eaton will mesh with the team's current culture, a bigger concern is whether he'll be able to stay healthy. Eaton suffered significant injuries in three of his four seasons in Washington, including a torn ACL and a broken index finger that ended his 2020 campaign.
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Mostly, though, the numbers have been consistently good for Eaton, a woeful stat line during this year's pandemic-shortened campaign aside. Fans might easily remember the off-the-field stuff, but on the field, he was productive for the White Sox, posting a .290/.362/.422 slash line to go along with solid outfield defense in his three seasons on the South Side. In Washington, he slashed a very similar .279/.365/.419, even if he did so in only 310 games.
"Knowing Adam well from his previous three seasons with us — including his work ethic and aggressive style, his offensive and defensive profiles, plus his recent championship experience — we believe he is a good fit on this White Sox roster," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said in the team's announcement. "The baseball world often comes full circle, and we are excited to welcome Adam back to play alongside some teammates we acquired thanks in large part to his previous contributions to our club."
It remains to be seen what the White Sox have in mind for Eaton, who would figure to be a strong possibility to take over as the everyday right fielder. Eaton has indeed earned an everyday job with his production at the plate. Though it is possible that Adam Engel, who had a nice offensive season in 2020 and is excellent defensively, could factor into the mix somehow.
Surely, it will take folks time to warm up to the idea of Eaton's return, and indeed, he'll have to prove them wrong by hitting well, staying healthy and creating zero negative headlines for stuff outside the lines. But as White Sox starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel — who admitted he, too, was hesitant when he initially heard about the Eaton signing — said Wednesday, "Nobody can deny the facts of Adam Eaton the ballplayer on the field."
That's true, and it's how the White Sox filled one of their biggest offseason needs.