Adam Eaton, the former Snohomish High School star who is among the sought-after free-agent pitchers this offseason, has reached an agreement on a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The deal was reported by ESPN.com and The Associated Press and confirmed by a scout in the Phillies’ organization.
Eaton, who turned 29 last week, flew to Philadelphia on Monday and was scheduled to undergo a physical exam this morning. If he passes, he’ll finalize a contract worth more than $24 million with an option year and incentives that could push the total package to $33 million.
Eaton’s move to the Phillies takes him off the free-agent radar of his hometown team, the Seattle Mariners. It also continues the rising cost to acquire pitching, which doesn’t bode well for a Mariners team that hopes to add two starters.
With Eaton becoming the highest-paid free-agent pitcher so far this offseason, the price won’t be cheap.
“We’re frustrated as hell by the market, but we’ll persevere,” Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi told the Tacoma News Tribune. “You’d like to be out there getting them first, but there are certain personal choices players make. We sometimes rate guys differently in terms of length of contract or money than other teams.”
Left-handed ace Barry Zito is considered the top free-agent starter available, although the high price he will command may drive the Mariners to other pitchers such as Jason Schmidt, Ted Lilly, Chan Ho Park, Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver. All of them, however, have drawn considerable interest from other teams.
Gil Meche, the longtime Mariners starter who is a free agent, also is being courted by several teams, among them the Chicago Cubs and new manager Lou Piniella.
Eaton, drafted in the first round out of high school by the Phillies in 1996, has pitched for the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers in a seven-year major league career. He has a career record of 54-45 with a 4.40 earned run average.
He said in September that he would consider the Mariners as he pursued his free-agent options this offseason, but he also had concerns pitching for his hometown team.
“I think it adds a lot of different stresses,” Eaton said. “It’s a good thing on one hand as long as you’re able to keep things under control. I think people get out of their routines when they’re at home. You’re thinking about home life as opposed to your job. Some guys are able to handle it and some guys aren’t.”
The Phillies took that factor out of the equation.
With starter Randy Wolfe expected to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers – coupled with an already thin field of quality free-agent starters this offseason – the Phillies jumped quickly at Eaton.
General manager Pat Gillick met with his agent, Jim Lindell, at the general manager meetings earlier this month and, this past weekend, applied a full-court press in Seattle.
Gillick, the Mariners’ GM from 2000-2003, spent the past weekend with Eaton – on Gillick’s 38th wedding anniversary.
Eaton had spoken with several teams, including the Rangers, Cardinals, Rockies, Padres and Braves.
All of those teams were particularly concerned with Eaton’s health after he missed much of last season with a torn ligament in the middle finger of his pitching hand, suffered during spring training. Eaton, who went 7-4 with a 5.13 ERA in 13 starts with the Rangers, said early this month that the worry over his finger is justified, but he emphasized that he is 100 percent healthy.
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