Adam Eaton is sure what kind of defensive player he is

By Todd Dybas - The Washington Times - Saturday, December 10, 2016

Adam Eaton was happy to clarify his defensive abilities Saturday.

“I’m glad I can speak because a lot of media has been speaking for me these last three days,” Eaton said at Nationals Winterfest. “If you look at my year before 2015 — which everyone is really, really focused on — I was a Gold Glove finalist in center field in the AL. I’d like to think that I’m that player. Two out of three years ain’t bad to be a finalist. But like I said, people really want to harp on ’15, where I was very poor. I don’t like to harp on the negative, either. So I think that I’m definitely the ’14 player. If I’m in right, hopefully I’m the ’16 player. And when I’m in center, hopefully I’m the ’14 (player). I think I’m very capable of playing all three and like I said, if (manager Dusty Baker) wants to throw me at second or short, maybe I can do that, too.”

Eaton joked that he would draw the line if asked to play catcher. His knees may not make it through the crouching and pummeling, he said.

In 2014, Eaton was a Gold Glove award finalist in center field. He was a finalist in right field last season. He bounced into the wall to make catches in 2014. He finished with 18 assists in 2016.

The Nationals outfield ranked 22nd last season in defensive runs saved, at -12. Eaton was fifth in baseball at 20. He will be a significant upgrade in center field, plus allow the Nationals to move Trea Turner to shortstop. If he plays a corner spot, he would be a significant upgrade there, too. Jayson Werth was -8 in left field and Bryce Harper was -3 in right field.

Eaton had problems of his own in the dreaded 2015 he mentioned. He was -15 in defensive runs saved that season. Here’s how Eaton explained the difference between that season and the two that sandwiched it:

“Flukes, in my opinion,” Eaton said. “There’s a couple plays that I should have made that I didn’t in ’15, and it kind of snowballed a little bit. I just feel like it kind of got out of hand. And once it got out of hand, I feel like I played pretty solid defense for probably a month and a half. I’ve went over this a million times, because I’ve had it thrown at me so much. There was about a month, month and half, where I played really, really good and the other months, there was inconsistencies.

“And then in ’14, I think it’s the player that I am. Just went out there, competed, learned the hitters, learned the pitchers, learned strengths of both. As well as my outfielders, as well as my middle infielders, and understanding where they’re coming from, how they’re feeling, how their arms are feeling and using all those tools to benefit me. Learning from my failures in ’15, and maybe not concentrating as much as I should have, allowed me again to have the year I did in ’16, to come back and be another finalist.”

The Nationals are banking on Eaton being the player he was in the even years.