The first move of Taylor Smith's tenure as the Athletics' president of baseball operations is a head-scratcher. 

On Thursday morning, the A's acquired 29-year-old outfielder Nate Eaton from the Boston Red Sox, as first reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Francys Romero was the first to report the return, with the A's sending right-handed pitcher Jareth Rayo back to the Sox. 

The fact that Smith's first move was with the Red Sox was expected, given his familiarity with the club. That the player he was after wasn't a pitcher, but instead an outfielder who is out of options, is the curious part.

Eaton has played a total of 137 games in the big leagues since the start of the 2022 season, and has hit .221 with a .294 OBP, good for an 82 wRC+ (100 is league average). He's notched three home runs and stolen 25 bases in that time while also holding a 7.9% walk rate and a 26.2% strikeout rate. 

That said, in 24 games with Boston last year, Eaton walked 13.3% of the time, which was among the best in baseball, and held his walk rate in double digits in the minors as well, sitting at 10.2% in 84 Triple-A games. His walk rate hadn't been in double digits since he was in High-A in 2021 as a member of the Kansas City Royals system, so this does appear to be a new skill.

The downside is that he was still below average at the plate at both levels, posting a 95 wRC+ in Triple-A and a 65 wRC+ in Boston. 

He doesn't hit the ball particularly hard, but he also doesn't make contact at an elite rate like Jacob Wilson. 

The one way he can help the A's immediately will be with his speed and defense. His sprint speed ranks in the 96th percentile, and with Henry Bolte alongside him, Eaton could give the A's two of the fastest players in the game chasing down balls in the outfield. His overall defense has graded out as at least average, while his arm strength is also top-tier, sitting in the 97th percentile. 

Left fielder Tyler Soderstrom (90th percentile) and Henry Bolte (87th percentile) have the two strongest arms among A's starting outfielders, while Lawrence Butler graded out in the 56th percentile in 2026.

Denzel Clarke, a right-handed bat like Eaton, is one of the best defenders in baseball and has good arm strength himself, ranking in the 72nd percentile with 83rd-percentile speed. 

Given that Eaton is out of options, that makes it more likely that Clarke will be starting the season in the minors. Eaton will need to stay on the A's active roster or else he will be subject to waivers. 

The A's signed right-hander Jareth Rayo in October of 2025, and he made his pro debut in 2026 in the Dominican Summer League. The 18-year-old from La Trinidad, Nicaragua, went 1-1 with a 5.50 ERA (5.94 FIP) and a 22.5% strikeout rate. 

He was one of the best strike throwers in the A's system at that level at 61.7% and held a 30.1% whiff rate with a 35% chase rate. Those skills could lead to an intriguing pitcher down the line, but the A's were after an immediate upgrade to the big-league depth, which made Rayo expendable. 

The fact that he was such a heavy fly-ball pitcher with just a 25.8% ground-ball rate probably didn't hurt either, given the A's uncertainty over how the new ballpark will actually play.