Adam Eaton excited for new opportunity with Washington Nationals

Life turned upside down for Eaton, 28, and his young family — he and his wife Katie’s son Brayden is 8 months old — but in a good way. He regrets Brayden will never have any memories of Chicago but looks forward to him learning to walk and growing up in the nation’s capital.

Eaton signed a five-year, $23.5 million contract before the 2015 season, so the Nationals have him under contract until 2019.

“First off I love the Midwest,” said Eaton on Tuesday in a phone call from Michigan, where Katie’s family lives. “I grew up in Springfield, and it’s been my home for a long time. You get kind of used to the demographic of people in the Midwest. They’re great people. So being in Chicago was awesome. I loved it. I really got to know some people, the whole organization top to bottom, all the players within. That was the difficult part: leaving such fine people in Chicago.

“But going to an organization that is ready to win, that has been winning, I’m coming into a great situation. I’ve always wanted to play playoff baseball, ever since I was a young kid at Kenton Ridge High School. Now I have a very good chance of it — a better chance of it, of course, with how Chicago is rebuilding.”

The trade did shock Eaton. It’s the second time he has been dealt in the last four years. The Diamondbacks traded him to Chicago on Dec. 10, 2013, in a three-team deal that also involved the Los Angeles Angels.

The White Sox, who won 73, 76 and 78 games in Eaton’s three seasons and finished fourth in the American League Central Division each year, signaled they were in rebuilding mode by trading ace Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox.

“Once Chris Sale got traded, it was kind of, ‘Hold onto your hat,’” Eaton said. “The whole organization took a deep breath. It was, ‘Alright, now where do they stop?’ He was dealt on Tuesday. I was dealt on Wednesday. Chicago is a fine organization, one I had a great three years with, but I’m looking forward to Washington. My family’s excited.”

Eaton will enter his sixth season in Major League Baseball and his fourth full season with a career .284 average and .357 on-base percentage. He hit .300 in his first season with the White Sox. In the last two seasons, he posted almost identical numbers:

• In 2015, Eaton hit .287 with a .361 on-base percentage, 175 hits, 28 doubles, nine triples, 56 RBIs and 14 home runs.

• In 2016, Eaton hit .284 with a .362 on-base percentage, 176 hits, 29 doubles, nine triples, 59 RBIs and 14 home runs.

The Wins Above Replacement metric placed Eaton among the best players in the baseball last season. He ranked 15th. He’s never been an all-star. He has never won a Gold Glove, though he was a finalist this year. But he has developed into one of the most consistent players in the game.

“He’s a high-energy guy,” Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo told reporters last week. “There’s an edge to him. We see the arrow still going up with him.”

The Nationals traded two first-round picks for Eaton, a 19th-round pick. Lucas Giolito was the 16th overall pick in 2012. Baseball American rated Giolito the No. 4 prospect in baseball last season. Dane Dunning, another pitcher the Nationals traded for Eaton, was the 29th overall pick in 2016.

Eaton doesn’t think about what the Nationals gave up to get him. He said that’s for the media and fans to discuss.

“If I sat at home and thought about that, I’d drive myself nuts,” Eaton said. “All I know is I switched teams, and I’m thrilled to be in Washington. It’s a great city. I went there for winter fest (last weekend), and my wife and I really enjoyed our short stay there. Everyone seemed to welcome me with open arms. That’s all I can ask for. I’m excited to get going. I wish it started tomorrow so games could be played and we could start working our way toward the playoffs. But of course we’ve got to wait and do the whole offseason thing.”

Eaton will need the time to find homes in West Palm Beach, Fla., where the Nationals have spring training, and in Washington.

While the drive from Springfield to D.C. will be longer for his parents, Robin and Glenn, Adam expects the trade-off — playing for a team that won 95 games last season and has made postseason appearances three times in the last five years — to be worth it.

“They loved Chicago,” Eaton said. “Dad maybe missed a dozen home games the whole three years. It was nice for him to be able to be up in Chicago and see a lot of games. I don’t know if they’ll see as many. But they’re excited nonetheless. They see the potential the team has.”

Eaton will play for former Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker in Washington. They met for the first time last weekend.

“My first reaction to him was he’s a player’s manager,” Eaton said. “He came up and started a conversation with me right away. In any conversation, it impresses people if they know a little bit about you, and he talked about some of my attributes. It seems like he’s a guy you go 162 with. I think other people would agree with me. I’m definitely looking forward to getting to know him. There’s some question marks with where I’ll be playing and where I’ll be hitting. We’ll cross those bridges when we come to them. We’re really looking forward to getting to spring training.”

Baker told reporters last week he could see Eaton hitting anywhere from lead-off to seventh in the order.

“It just depends on if I want to break the left-handers up,” Baker said. “I have to talk to him first to see where he feels most comfortable. I’ve got to talk to everybody and see. What you do in the beginning doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where you’re going to end up. That’s what spring training is for. That’s what the beginning of the season is for.”

Eaton will hit wherever they tell him, though he would prefer to bat lead-off. He has started 505 games in his career and hit lead-off in 448 of them.

“If that’s not in the cards for me and it’s not in the best interest of the team, then I have to accept that and hit where they want me to hit,” Eaton said. “The team comes first. We want to win a championship, and whatever needs to happen for that to happen, I’ll do that.”