A speculated deal between the Washington Nationals and Chicago White Sox is now done. Adam Eaton will be going to Washington.
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported the deal and noted that Lucas Giolito was part of the Chicago’s return. According to Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago, the White Sox will be getting a lot more from the Nationals.
#WhiteSox return includes Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and Reynaldo Lopez for Adam Eaton.
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) December 7, 2016
That is a massive haul for Chicago.
Per MLB.com, Giolito is graded as MLB’s third-ranked prospect in 2016. Lopez, meanwhile was ranked 38th overall and third in the Washington organization, behind only Giolito and Victor Robles. Dunning was taken in the compensatory round (29th overall) in the 2016 MLB Draft. All three prospects are pitchers.
On Tuesday, the White Sox added Yoan Moncada (among others) in the Chris Sale trade. Moncada was ranked as MLB.com’s top prospect heading into the 2016 season.
Certainly the winter meetings have been fruitful for Chicago.
Of course, rebuilding projects are always risky. Even the most highly-touted prospects often bust. But the White Sox haven’t made the playoffs since 2008 and haven’t enjoyed a winning season since 2012. So, the nucleus that they had in place was not getting the job done. So, why not reload?
With Eaton, Washington is further solidified as one of the game’s best teams. But trading so much young talent away gives the Nationals a clear expectation. Win a World Series. Eaton was not acquired to get Washington to the playoffs. It’s made three postseason trips since 2012, losing in the NLDS each time. Now the goal is to make a deep playoff run and ultimately, win the last game of the season.
The Nationals have the talent in place to do that. Now they have to make it happen.