Chicago White Sox 2021 Season Preview: Adam Eaton

We went into the offseason knowing that Nomar Mazara wasn’t the answer for the Chicago White Sox in right-field. As a result, they needed to go out and find someone who could play that position at a high level. It sure would have been nice to add someone like George Springer but he ended up signing with the Toronto Blue Jays. Instead, the White Sox settled for their old friend Adam Eaton. He is going to come back after being traded to the Washington Nationals in 2016.

The Chicago White Sox are hoping to get a good year out of Adam Eaton.

That trade was one that certainly worked out for both sides. The White Sox landed Lucas Giolito who is firmly their ace, Reynaldo Lopez who may or may not stick but has potential still, and Dane Dunning who they turned into Lance Lynn. Adam Eaton, on the other hand, went to the Washington Nationals and won himself a World Series. Everybody wins.

Now, after a tough 2020 season for Eaton, he returns to the White Sox where he wants to have a better year. Of course, he also wants to bring that World Series feeling back to Chicago. He is coming back with a plethora of new experiences that he can pass along to some of the young guys. He will find that this team is in a very different spot than they were back when he was traded away.

He will join what looks to be a pretty prolific outfield. If he can be a good offensive player, they could form one of the best trios in the game. Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert will be out there with him and they should have a lot of fun playing together. His defense is pretty good too so they should be pretty set in the left-center area.

There is Adam Engel right behind him and ready to hop in whenever he is needed. If the Eaton experiment fails, Engel should be able to hop right in. He could also be a benefit to Eaton if he plays well because he will get days off to rest while Engel plays. Eaton playing well would also allow Engel to serve as a late-inning defensive replacement for Jimenez who is pretty bad with his mitt. There are a lot of things riding on the play of Adam Eaton in 2021.

2021 Expectations:

Some people think Adam Eaton will return to his old form and some people think he will be as bad as he was in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. Both of those groups of people are probably wrong. Adam Eaton should have an okay year hitting near the bottom of a pretty loaded lineup. If he is the worst hitter in the everyday starting lineup you probably have an elite everyday starting lineup. There is a lot of talent around him that should help boost his numbers and he will also be in a winning environment. This should be a pretty good year for him.