Soon after pulling off a blockbuster that sent Chris Sale to the Red Sox, the White Sox have traded away another core piece of their roster. The White Sox and Nationals have worked out a trade that sends outfielder Adam Eaton to Washington as part of a four-player deal. The White Sox announced the trade on Wednesday.

The Sox appear are also getting another impressive package in return for their outfielder:

Eaton, who's going into his age-28 campaign, is coming off a 2016 season in which he batted .284/.362/.428 (119 OPS+) with 14 home runs, 14 stolen bases, and an AL-leading nine triples. As well, Eaton graded out as one of the best defensive right fielders in baseball in his first season at the position. For his career, he owns an OPS+ of 116 across parts of five big-league seasons.

In terms of money, Eaton's owed a minimum of roughly $21.4 million, and he's locked up through 2019. His contract also includes reasonably-priced club options for 2020 and 2021. In other words, Eaton is under control for a long time to come at bargain prices.

In Washington, Eaton will likely return to center field, which would allow Trea Turner to move to back his natural position of shortstop. The Eaton acquisition also means that the Nationals are almost certainly no longer in trade discussions for Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates.

Earlier this offseason, the Nationals and White Sox were in deep trade discussions for Sale before Boston wound up striking an agreement for the ace left-hander.

On the White Sox's side of things, consider this another impressive haul in the ongoing rebuild. The prize of this one is likely Lucas Giolito, the 22-year-old right-hander. He was the 16th-overall pick in 2012, and coming into the 2016 season he was consensus top-five prospect overall. While his brief stint in the majors last season went poorly, Giolito in the minors owns a 2.73 ERA and 3.23 K/BB ratio across 75 games, 73 of which have been starts.

Reynaldo Lopez is another well-regarded 22-year-old right-hander. He generally struggled in five starts and six relief appearances for the Nats last season, but he's been a top-100 prospect coming into each of the last two seasons. Dane Dunning, meantime, is a 21-year-old right-hander. The 29th-overall pick last June out of the University of Florida, Dunning has thrived in eight professional starts. He ended his first professional season in the Class A New York-Penn League.

Summing up White Sox GM Rick Hahn's work this week is this ...

The Nats have a much-needed upgrade in the outfield, and the Sox have a very bright long-term future.