White Sox weren’t afraid to spend to get Adam Eaton off their team

The Chicago White Sox have DFA’d outfielder Adam Eaton, and cost was clearly no object if it meant getting rid of him.

Despite a pretty long (and growing) list of injuries, the Chicago White Sox are in solid command  of the AL Central. So they can take some calculated risks, and Wednesday morning’s decision to designate outfielder Adam Eaton for assignment qualifies. Outfielder Adam Engel was activated off the IL in a corresponding move.

Last offseason, the White Sox signed Eaton to a one-year $7 million deal with an $8.5 million club option ($1 million buyout) for 2022. In 58 games (219 plate appearances) this season, he has posted a .201/.298/.344 slash-line (.642 OPS) with five home runs and 28 RBI. He recently returned from an IL stint due to a hamstring injury, so the White Sox have quickly assessed they don’t have a place for him.

The White Sox simply want rid of Adam Eaton

The White Sox may find a trade market for Eaton. He’s not far removed from a solid 2019 season with the Washington Nationals (.279 average, .792 OPS, 15 home runs, 15 stolen bases), and he can play all three outfield spots. But it’s more likely he’s released when the window to trade him expires, as other teams won’t want to take on the money he’s owed.

The White Sox surely know the strong likelihood they’ll have to eat the remainder of Eaton’s contract. But they clearly don’t care, and they’d rather go with a mix of Andrew Vaughn, Engel, Gavin Sheets, Brian Goodwin, Billy Hamilton, Leury Garcia and Danny Mendick to fill their outfield right now. That says it all about what they think of Eaton, but an effort to add an outfielder before the trade deadline seems likely.

Once he clears waivers and other teams can name their price, Eaton should land somewhere fairly quickly. But the White Sox have cut bait rather than wait for a possible rebound, with no regard for the cost or apparent entertainment of the possibility they’ll regret moving on so quickly.