Here Eaton comes ‘to save the day’ for Nats
40-man roster — including a 7-inch height difference with Bryce Harper, and 9 with Jayson Werth, the other members of his hitting group Sunday.
“If you talk to scouts, there’s that bias: ‘Oh, he’s such a big, strong, strapping guy,’ ” said former major league player and manager Bob Boone, now a Nationals vice president and senior adviser to general manager Mike Rizzo. “But what really matters is what happens between the lines. If you can really play, nobody cares about your size.”
Eaton was Rizzo’s biggest offseason addition for the defending National League East champions, who sent three young pitchers to the Chicago White Sox.
Manager Dusty Baker is expected to bat Eaton first or second in the lineup and start him in center, between corner outfielders Werth and Harper.
“I told him to put me wherever he wants to put me,” Eaton said.
Last season, Eaton hit .284 with 14 homers, 59 RBIs and 14 stolen bases, while leading the majors with 18 outfield assists from right field.
Eaton, 28, has three guaranteed seasons left in a $23.5 million, fiveyear contract. He has a .284 career batting average with a .357 on-base percentage and a .414 slugging percentage, with 34 homers and 177 RBIs in five seasons with the White Sox and the Arizona Diamondbacks. He led the American League in triples in two of the past three seasons.
Baker said Eaton’s former manager in Chicago, Robin Ventura, offered something of a scouting report on the player: “Robin said he comes to play. And I think that’s the No. 1 thing that we’re getting paid for. You come to play. That’s a good sign and it’s a very good reputation to have — that he’s a ballplayer.”