WAR This

White Sox centerfielder Adam Eaton stands 5’8” and weighs 185 pounds.  New Cubs’ outfielder Jason Heyward stands 6’5” and weighs 245 pounds.  Last season, Eaton had 610 at-bats; 98 runs scored; 14 homeruns; 56 rbi’s; 18 stolen bases; .287 batting average; and .361 on-base percentage.  With the Cardinals, Heyward had 547 at-bats; 79 runs; 13 homers; 60 rbi’s; 23 stolen bases; .293 batting average; and .359 on-base percentage.  Goliath would not seem to have that much over David at the plate.

On defense last season, Eaton handled 356 chances with 342 putouts; 8 assists vs. 5 errors; and a .986 fielding average.  Playing 144 games in right and 10 games in center, Heyward handled 303 chances with 290 putouts; 10 assists vs. 3errors; and a .990 fielding average.  If in fact Heyward does shift over to center (as opposed to, say, the venerable Ben Zobrist, who’s found himself in center for all of 34 games in 10 big-league seasons), it will be interesting to see how much Heyward improves on Eaton’s defensive stats.

The above figures plugged into the appropriate equations—plus the right incantations—produce a 2015 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 3.9 for Eaton and 6.5 for Heyward.  As to salaries, Eaton earned $850,000 in 2015 and should make in the neighborhood of $2.75 million next season.  Heyward earned $7.8 million in his only season with the Cardinals and, depending how the deal is structured, can expect a 2016 paycheck of about $24 million.  The experts I read in the paper all say that will be a bargain once the Cubs win a World Series.