Scrappy Eaton shocked but excited to join Sox
At this point last year, Adam Eaton was viewed as the Arizona Diamondbacks' starting center fielder and leadoff hitter for 2013 and well beyond.
Squeezing every ounce of talent out of his 5-foot-8, 185-pound frame, Eaton led all 2012 full-season minor leaguers with a .375 batting average, 47 doubles and 130 runs scored while finishing second with a .456 on-base percentage in 130 games between Class AAA Reno and AA Mobile.
Called up by Arizona in September of that season, Eaton held his own while putting up a .259/.382/.412 hitting line in 22 games.
Last March, however, the 25-year-old outfielder tore a ligament in his left elbow during a throwing drill in spring training. Eaton wasn't able to make it back to the Diamondbacks until early July, and he never seemed to be fully healthy last season.
Eaton wound up losing his starting job to A.J. Pollock, and on Tuesday he joined the White Sox in a three-way trade that sent left-handed pitcher Hector Santiago from the South Side to the Los Angeles Angels.
“It was very shocking,” Eaton said on a conference call Wednesday morning. “With the Diamondbacks, this past spring training I thought I was going to be around for five to 10 years. That's what they told me. But they went in a new direction and so have I, and I'm excited for the opportunity. I couldn't be more thrilled to be back in the Midwest and in the AL Central.
“As shocked as I was, it was more excitement to a new beginning and a new club, a new city. I'm really looking forward to it.”
A Springfield, Ohio, native, Eaton is expected to step right into the Sox' lineup next season as the starting center fielder and leadoff man.
“I'd love to be at the top of the lineup but if that's not where I'm needed, that's not where I'm needed,” Eaton said. “I'll play anywhere at anytime.”
Always judged by his small size and often overlooked, Eaton attended Miami (Ohio) University and was the Diamondbacks' 19th-round draft pick in 2010. His all-out play and high energy have White Sox fans viewing Eaton as the next Aaron Rowand.
Eaton offered two other comparisons.
“I would like to think I'm kind of a Lenny Dykstra/Kenny Lofton mix,” he said. “Kind of a guy that's going to be a scrappy dirtbag guy and get after it day in and day out. But hopefully I'll bring a little finesse, bring a little speed and quickness and score some runs. If I can hang my hat on a .300 (batting average), score 100 runs with an on-base percentage around .400, I think I'd have a heck of a year.
“I think it's definitely doable. That's what I'm shooting for this coming year.”
As for the “dirtbag” tag also used by general manager Rick Hahn to describe the White Sox' new addition, Eaton said it's simply a matter of doing whatever it takes to reach base and ignite the offense.
“Get on base at all costs,” he said. “I don't care if I get hit in the head, hit in the ankle. See 10-12 pitches, see as many pitches as I can and get on base anyway I can, it doesn't matter. As long as I get on base I'm successful, because I know the guys we have behind us, with (Paul) Konerko and (Adam) Dunn, (Gordon) Beckham and all those guys, I'm one pitch away from scoring.”
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