"Flattered" by trade, Adam Eaton has enjoyed whirlwind week

Adam Eaton knows the Nationals gave up a lot to acquire him. The club's new center fielder tried not to pay too much attention to the specifics of the blockbuster trade this week that brought him here and sent three elite prospects to the White Sox, but he knows the Nats thought highly enough of him to take the criticism that came with the deal.

"I'm flattered," he said. "Coming into such a great organization that has won, and to be able to contribute, hopefully, as well as I have in the past, it's an honor. Not too many people get the opportunity that I have, I guess is what I'm trying to say. Not try to mess anything up, try to come in and try to produce as well as I can and try to help this team win, that's the main focus. It always has been. And it will continue."

With a new No. 2 Nationals jersey around his chest and a wide smile on his face, Eaton is being unveiled to the public this weekend at Nats Winterfest. And only a couple hours into the annual event, he already has a good sense of the significance of his acquisition and how D.C. is welcoming him into the fold.

"A lot of optimism," he said. "No offense to the White Sox, but the difficult years that I was there ... coming into such a great situation that I am with a team that has won and has winners throughout their team, it's fun to see the fans and how they glow with excitement to see us. It's been a great experience. I've really enjoyed it."

Eaton, who was acquired Wednesday for pitching prospects Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning, didn't go into the week thinking he'd be part of a trade. But then he started hearing rumors about the White Sox shopping Chris Sale, and after the ace was dealt to the Red Sox on Tuesday in a monster deal for even more top prospects, the 28-year-old outfielder began to wonder about his own future.

"I didn't really expect to be traded," he said. "But once they traded Chris, it was kind of like: 'Oh, boy, here we go.'"

It's been a whirlwind since, with Eaton trying to find out as much information as he could about the Nationals' new spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., about places to live in the D.C. area and flying into town for this weekend's event.

He spent Friday at Nationals Park, meeting the medical and training staffs and a few teammates who happened to pass through. Daniel Murphy reached out to him earlier in the day, with a simple message: "Game on. We're pumped to have you."

Murphy, himself a newcomer to the organization last winter, also recognized the heavy price the Nationals paid to acquire Eaton, but he also knew the player joining his team was worth it.

"I was ecstatic," the National League MVP runner-up said, "because of how good he's been."

Eaton directly addressed one of the critiques that has been prevalent since the trade went down Wednesday at the Winter Meetings, that he shouldn't play center field after a bad season there in 2015 that prompted the White Sox to shift him to right field this season.

He pointed out that Chicago acquired Austin Jackson, an experienced center fielder, last winter, factoring into the switch. Eaton also attributed his defensive struggles in 2015 to one particularly rough stretch that included a combination of poor play and a shoulder injury, the severity of which he didn't let on at the time.

"I'm glad I can speak, because a lot of media has been speaking for me these last three days," Eaton said. "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 (outfield positions)."

Offensively, there's been little fluctuation in Eaton's performance over the last three years. His on-base percentages from 2014-16: .362, .361, .362.

He attributes that consistency to the "peaks and valleys" he had early in his career with the Diamondbacks, not to mention the birth of his son, Brayden, in April.

"I give a lot of credit to him: He put life in perspective," Eaton said. "Not everything revolves around baseball. Baseball is absolutely the No. 2 priority behind my family. But to come home and be mad about the game and have it last a little longer than it should ... I come home, I see his smiling face and I have to change a poopy diaper and put him to bed. It kind of puts life in perspective that baseball's alright. It's going to be there tomorrow. I'm going to have to go out there and work my butt off to get another hit. But realistically, this is what matters. Being able to put these games behind me allowed me to be a little more consistent."

Eaton has learned how to be a consistent performer when it comes to his stats, but he's always been consistent in his approach to the game. General manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dusty Baker raved about the "edge" and "energy" he plays with, and the 5-foot-8 outfielder takes particular pride in that part of his game.

"Anything to win a ballgame," he said. "I'm 5-8. You guys are all taller than me. ... I have to do the small things correctly. I have to think the game. I have to play the game hard. I have to go out there and want to win at any cost. I've played my whole career as such, and I'll continue to do that. Hopefully, people see me as a player that wants to win and will do anything to win and does the small things correctly."