White Sox: Is Avisail Garcia The Next Player on Trading Block?
By Rob Hill
White Sox All-Star outfielder having a solid season, could Avisail Garcia be next player to be traded from the South Side?
As the July 31 trading deadline looms, the Chicago White Sox have already made headlines in the form of big transactions. Former Sox ace Jose Quintana was dealt last Thursday to the North Side of Chicago for four prospects as the South Siders continue to fortify their rebuilding process. Could their lone All-Star this season be the next piece to go?
Avisail Garcia was acquired coincidentally at the July 31 trade deadline back in 2013 as apart of a three team trade. The deal at one point had benefited all sides except for the White Sox. Jake Peavy, going from the White Sox to the Red Sox in the three team deal, helped bring Boston a World Series title back in 2013.
More from White Sox News
- The Chicago White Sox might have had a season ending loss
- The Chicago White Sox are expecting Tim Anderson back soon
- Miguel Cairo’s words spark life into the Chicago White Sox
- Dylan Cease should be the favorite for the AL Cy Young Award
- Ozzie Guillen speaks the whole truth about Tony La Russa
Jose Iglesias, who has been the starting shortstop for the Detroit Tigers since he went from the Red Sox to the Tigers, has shown to be one of the best all around shortstops in the game. The final piece came to the White Sox in the form of a then 21-year-old five tool outfielder in Garcia.
Coming into the 2017 season, Garcia had three and a half seasons under his belt on the South Side and it was safe to say he was underwhelming up to that point. Garcia owned a .263/.312/.403 slash line to go along with 37 home runs and 160 RBI’s in 356 games played. As the White Sox front office made it public this past offseason that they were committing to a full pledged rebuild, the 2017 season looked like it would be Garcia’s last chance to prove he still had untapped potential, and he has done just that.
Garcia made his first All-Star team this season as he stayed blistering hot throughout the entire first half of the 2017 season. He is on pace to finish the season with a career high in home runs, runs batted in, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.
Next: White Sox Future Brighter After Trading Jose Quintana
In short, he will set new highs in every offensive category by season’s end. This makes Garcia extremely desirable to teams that are in contention and are in need for a plus bat and a corner outfielder. But which teams would fit the mold for Garcia’s talents?