Detroit Tigers: Adam Eaton was missed opportunity but there are options
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Tigers missed out on signing outfielder Adam Eaton, a phenomenal fit, but there are still other options.
As the Detroit Tigers continue to go through their offseason, they still need to make some offseasons additions to the roster. During the Virtual Winter Meetings, the market has slowly started to gain some traction.
Outfielder Adam Eaton returns to a Tigers American League Central-rival on a one-year contract worth $7 million. Eaton is heading back to the Chicago White Sox on a one-year, $7 million contract to be their everyday right fielder.
While the Tigers are struggling and the White Sox are competing, Eaton would have been perfect in the outfield at Comerica Park. The sad part is, he will find his way into Comerica Park this year, wearing the southside gray jersey rather than the old-English “D” uniform.
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It is no secret that the Tigers are not the most exciting team to play for in their current state, but they should have tried to land the outfielder.
It is a missed opportunity, whether that falls on the Tigers front office’s lack of motivation who failed to make a pitch or Eaton shutting the idea down.
The Tigers would have benefitted greatly from a left-handed bat like Eaton, who hit .226/.285/.384 with four home runs and 17 RBI for the Washington Nationals in 2020.
He could have slotted in as one of the everyday outfielders, but missing out on him is okay, sort of.
While, yes, Eaton would have been a great fit for this outfield and team, they can get similar output out of David Dahl.
Recently non-tendered by Colorado Rockies, Dahl is an option the organization better be targeting with the White Sox signing of Eaton.
Dahl, another left-handed bat, could slot into the Tigers outfield while looking to bounce back and return to form from where he was before the 2020 season. The Tigers will have to fill out a roster with a few signings this offseason; that is not up for debate.
Missing out on Eaton sucks, but there are still options like Dahl, who can provide similar output and be a similar addition to this Tigers team. Even if it is not a left-handed bat, they could be easily adding in someone like Hunter Renfroe as a right-handed bat.
Do not forget about the rumors and rumblings that pointed to the Tigers possibly pursuing former-Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson this offseason. Pederson is another left-handed bat the team could look to bring in. The issue with Pederson is that the Tigers do not spend money like they did when Mike Ilitch was still around to be calling the shots.
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The Detroit Tigers missed out on Adam Eaton, but they still have a chance to make the fanbase happy by going out and signing someone like David Dahl or Joc Pederson, possibly Hunter Renfroe.