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WASHINGTON – It was five years ago this week that one of the most important recent trades by the Washington Nationals took place.
And the deal was worked out just a few miles from Nationals Park.
During the Winter Meetings in 2016 – in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and at National Harbor – the Chicago White Sox parted with veteran outfielder Adam Eaton, sending him to Washington.
In turn, the Nationals sent three pitchers to Chicago – Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Dane Dunning.
Washington took a lot of heat for the trade; that heat became less intense after the Nationals won the World Series in 2019 with Eaton playing a key role.
Eaton hit a homer in Game 6 of the World Series to help ignite another Washington comeback. For the playoffs, he was 11-for-61 with two homers and 11 RBIs.
“Sometimes I can hit the ball out of the infield,” Eaton joked on the field after the Game 7 win in Houston. “I don’t have to use my legs so much.”
Asked about the trade by this reporter, and if he felt vindicated, Eaton declined to comment in Houston after Game 7.
Eaton played in 58 games with the White Sox last season and then played in 25 games with the Angels before he was released in August.
Giolito threw a no-hitter for the White Sox in 2020 and became an All-Star pitcher in Chicago. He was 11-9 with an ERA of 3.53 this past season with the White Sox while Lopez was 4-4, 3.43.
A year ago today, Dunning was traded by the White Sox to the Rangers. Dunning was 5-10 with an ERA of 4.51 in 27 games with 25 starts this past season.