Adam Eaton mourns death of former teammate Tyler Skaggs

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Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs tragically died at the age of 27 Monday, rocking the entire baseball world. 

One of those particularly affected by Skaggs' passing was Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton, who played with Skaggs for several years in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. 
Absolutely speechless.. -- #rip #brother
A post shared by Adam Eaton (@adam_eaton2) on Jul 1, 2019 at 2:02pm PDT

Eaton posted his reaction on Instagram Monday afternoon, writing "Absolutely speechless" with a poster of him and Skaggs from 2013 which dubbed them "Rookie Stars."

Eaton and Skaggs both made their MLB debuts with the D-Backs in 2012 and were part of a three-team trade on Dec. 10, 2013, which sent Skaggs to the Angels and Eaton to the White Sox. Skaggs stayed with Los Angeles and carved out a spot in the Angels rotation, while Eaton was dealt to the Nats in 2016. 

"Was really close to him early on in my career and competing against him," Eaton told Chad Dukes Tuesday on 106.7 The Fan. "You never think anything like that's going to happen. He's 27 years old, he just got married. I know his family, I know his wife."

"He's just a great person, great teammate. He was always enjoyable to be around. It was a wake-up call for me. I was at home in Michigan yesterday — I stayed back in Detroit — and just hugged my two boys, hugged my wife, called my family."

"Skaggs' lasting memory to me is a wake-up call that family's important. You never know when you're going to be called to leave here, and take every day as a blessed day."

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