Nathan Wyatt Eaton (born December 22, 1996) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at the

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

, and was drafted by the Royals in the 21st round of the

2018 MLB draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

, and made his MLB debut with them in 2022.

Career

Kansas City Royals

Eaton attended Thomas Dale High School in

Chester, Virginia Chester is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chesterfield County, Virginia, Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 23,414. History Chester's original "downtown" was a st ...

, and played

at the

. In 2018, he posted a .287/.402/.507

slash line This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

while leading the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

with 36 steals and being caught five times. He was drafted by the

in the 21st round of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

. He made his professional debut with the

Idaho Falls Chukars The Idaho Falls Chukars are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and play their home games at Melaleu ...

and played in 2019 with the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

, slashing .233/.305/.336 in 497 at bats and stealing 18 bases in 19 attempts. Eaton did not play for a team in 2020 due to the

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

season being cancelled because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He played 2021 with the

Arizona Complex League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it fo ...

Royals and

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, on ...

, and for three minor league teams that season slashed .243/.350/.368 in 272 at bats with 23 stolen bases in 26 attempts. After the season, he played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

and was selected to play in the Fall Stars Game. Eaton started 2022 with

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

before being promoted to the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

, and in 2022 between the two teams he slashed .285/.358/.465 in 388 at bats with 23 stolen bases in 28 attempts. The Royals promoted Eaton to the major leagues for the first time on July 14, 2022. That same day, Eaton logged his first career hit, a solo home run off of Anthony Banda. The blast helped fuel the Royals to a 3-1 victory over the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. He was removed from the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

and returned to the minors on July 18. He had his contract selected back to the major league roster on August 3. In 2022 with the Royals, he slashed .264/.331/.387 in 106 at bats with 11 steals in 12 attempts. Eaton made Kansas City's

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster to start the 2023 season. Eaton made his pitching debut on April 10, 2023, against the Texas Rangers. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, hitting with his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

and striking out Adolis García. Eaton struggled for Kansas City in 2023, playing in 28 games and slashing just .075/.125/.075 with no home runs, one RBI, and three stolen bases. On November 2, Eaton was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Royals. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A Omaha on November 8. Eaton spent the 2024 campaign with Triple–A Omaha, playing in 116 games and slashing .252/.299/.439 with 16 home runs, 60 RBI, and 27 stolen bases. Eaton elected free agency on November 6, 2024.

Boston Red Sox

On November 20, 2024, Eaton signed a minor league contract with the

. He made 53 appearances for the Triple-A

Worcester Red Sox The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawtucket Red Sox. Th ...

, hitting .277/.364/.446 with five home runs, 27 RBI, and four stolen bases. On June 1, 2025, the Red Sox selected Eaton's contract and added him to their active roster; he was optioned back to Triple-A the following day, then recalled on June 16.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Nate 1996 births Living people Arizona Complex League Royals players Baseball players from Virginia Boston Red Sox players Idaho Falls Chukars players Kansas City Royals players Lexington Legends players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players People from Chester, Virginia Quad Cities River Bandits players Surprise Saguaros players VMI Keydets baseball players Worcester Red Sox players