Adam Eaton agreed to contract with the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, and one of his first orders of business after signing the deal was to nearly hang up on a local radio show.
Shortly after it was widely reported that Eaton signed a one-year, $7 million contract with Chicago, the outfielder joined ESPN 1000’s “Carmen and Jurko Show” for what turned out to be a very brief interview. Eaton was asked about some of the concerns people have raised that new White Sox manager Tony La Russa may have trouble relating to players. He didn’t exactly hang up, but he ended the interview. You can hear the exchange below:
Eaton probably said when he agreed to the interview that he didn’t want to answer any questions about La Russa and the Hall of Famer’s controversial offseason. La Russa was charged with driving while under the influence the day before Chicago hired him, and some embarrassing details from the incident have surfaced since.
You can understand why Eaton, who just joined the team, would not want to get into any of that. However, the question seemed to be about La Russa’s age (76) and the fact that he has not managed in nearly a decade. That’s a fair question for any White Sox player, though Eaton clearly didn’t want to answer it.
Eaton hit just .226 in 41 games with the Washington Nationals last year. The 32-year-old previously played for the White Sox from 2014-2016.
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