In Retrospect: Grading The 2017 White Sox Trades
White Sox accelerated rebuild last offseason with a flurry of trades that continued through August. How would each trade be graded?
The White Sox have seen a lot of players come and go this season. Many that most people won’t even remember but a few that have put the Sox in the position they are in today. Players that were cornerstones of the franchise and are now cornerstones of other organizations. A few players we dumped and others that are sorely missed.
We’ll take a brief look at the notable trades throughout the season and look at the returns and how they fared with their new teams.
Aug. 31 – Traded RHP Miguel Gonzalez to Texas Rangers for INF Ti-Quan Forbes
Gonzalez had a nice resurgence with the White Sox. He did not have any plans with the team for the future, but he was very solid at the times for the club. In Texas, he’s given up 13 runs and five home runs in three starts (16.1 innings pitched). He has a 1-2 record with Texas, and is 8-12 overall on the year.
Grade: C / Gonzalez was not very highly valued but any return for a 33-year old pitcher who was probably not apart of the future plans is a good return.
Aug. 14 – Traded RHP Tyler Clippard to Houston Astros for player to be named later/cash (TBA)
We received Clippard through another trade a mere month before this trade. Clippard has actually pitched in more games for the Astros than he did for the Sox. It’s quite amazing that the Sox actually flipped him so quickly for anything at all. He had a 1.80 ERA in 10 IP with the Sox. In Houston, he has a 9.00 ERA in 10 IP and has given up 10 runs on three home runs.
Grade: B- / We acquired Clippard as a “throw in” piece. He was the only player that we could play after letting go of three of our every day players. The fact we flipped him at all, in only a month of service time deserves some recognition.
July 30 – Traded OF Melky Cabrera to KC Royals for minor leaguers LHP Andre Davis, RHP A.J Puckett
This was a tough pill to swallow. The affectionately-called ‘Melk Man’ was definitely a fan favorite and one of the better players on the team over the last three seasons. It was said that there was no market for him, but he’s just so reliable and solid that it was no surprise there was interest from the Royals. He’s hitting .288 on the year with 83 RBI and 17 lhome runs. With KC, he’s hitting .274 with 57 hits in 54 games. The Sox acquired Puckett who is actually slated at No.22 in the White Sox Top 30 prospects list courtesy of mlbpipeline.com.
Grade: C+ / Cabrera is older and developed his own trade market single-handedly. The Sox got two minor leaguers and one promising prospect in Puckett.
Jul. 27 – Traded LHP Dan Jennings to TB Rays for 1B Casey Gillaspie
Jennings, the lefty specialist, was dealt to the Rays who were in contention for the playoffs at the time of this trade. Jennings had a 3.45 ERA with the Sox in 44.1 IP. The Sox however, received a solid prospect in Casey Gillaspie, brother of former Sox veteran Conor Gillaspie. Gillaspie is actually ranked as the 11th top prospect in the Sox Top 30 list.
Grade: B / This was a great trade, considering Jennings’ future with the team was up in the air. The Sox got a very promising prospect at a position where the Sox needed to add depth. If the Sox had gave up any more than just Jennings, it would have been considered a bad trade.
Jul. 26 – Traded LHP Anthony Swarzak to Milwaukee Brewers for OF Ryan Cordell
Swarzak, one of the many players acquired and flipped this season, is currently having a career year. Swarzak had an ERA of 2.23 with the Sox in 48.1 IP. With the Brewers, his ERA has dipped to 205 in 26.1 IP. Swarzak was a solid piece for the Sox to sell and just like every other player with value, they did. The Sox received Cordell, another solid outfield prospect. Cordell is currently the No.16 Sox prospect, in between 2017 second round draft pick Gavin Sheets and another prospect received in a trade – Luis Alexander Basabe.
Grade: C+ / Similar to the Jennings trade, the Swarzak move was acceptable because of the return. Swarzak was good enough for another team to add at least another prospect. Maybe not one that could have been added to the Sox Top 30 list but just another prospect to sweeten the deal.
July 19 – Traded 3B Todd Frazier, RHP Tommy Kahnle and RHP David Robertson to NY Yankees for LHP Ian Clarkin, OF Tito Polo, OF Blake Rutherford and Clippard.
The crazy July continued with this blockbuster trade between the Sox and the Yanks. The Sox gave up Frazier, who was having the worst year of his career; Kahnle, who was having the best year of his career, and Robertson. The Yankees were in need of bullpen arms and received two very solid relief pitchers. Robertson was involved in trade talks going all the way back to December. He’s a valuable piece because of his setup and save capabilities. Kahnle on the other hand was very close to dominant this season. Kahnle was sporting a 2.50 ERA over 36.0 IP with a K/9 rate of 15.0. Frazier meanwhile is on pace to finish with career lows in runs, hits, and batting average.
For the White Sox, they received a nice package of prospects but this trade is heavily reliant on the headliner which is undoubtedly Blake Rutherford, the current Sox fourth ranked prospect. He’s been compared to David Justice with less power so it’s safe to say that he’s highly rated and very talented. The Sox also received Ian Clarkin who is currently No. 21 on the Sox Top 30 list.
Grade: B / This was a solid trade but whether or not this trade was a success for the White Sox depends all on Rutherford. The Sox gave up two valuable bullpen pieces that were going to attract a lot of attention. Clarkin is fine acquisition but the Sox want to see Rutherford reach his maximum potential. The other prospects have not been discussed enough to shed any more light on this trade.
Jul. 13 – Traded LHP Jose Quintana to Cubs for INF Bryant Flete, INF Matt Rose, RHP Dylan Cease and OF Eloy Jimenez
This was the biggest deal of the calendar year for both sides but the winner is still undetermined. Quintana was a definite White Sox fan favorite and player who the fans have seen grow into one of the best and most unappreciated pitchers in the league. This was not his best season but the Cubs were banking on their ability to get him runs, which he doesn’t need a lot of.
He’s currenlty 6-3 with an ERA of 3.95 on the Northside but the value in Quintana for the Cubs is he’s still under team control for the next three seasons and is still relatively young. In contrast to the Aroldis Chapman trade which they only had for half a season, Quintana is not a rental.
However, for the White Sox, they added literally the top two prospects in the Cubs organization. Jimenez arrived in Single-A ball and as the fifth ranked prospect in baseball. He’s now the Sox top prospect, and ranked fourth overall. Cease is the Sox fifth ranked prospect and is listed at No 59 in the Top 100 prospects list courtest of mlbpieline.com. Jimenez is said to be Moncada 2.0 with a ridiculous amount of power. He was promoted to Double-A Birmingham near the close of the 2017 season.
Grade: A- / This trade was great for both sides. Both teams should be able to say they were big winners of this one. The Sox received two of their current top five prospects, as well as two other prospects for Quintana. He was an important player but the return in Jimenez alone looks like the ends will justify the means.
December 7, 2016 – Traded OF Adam Eaton to Washington Nationals for RHP Dane Dunning, RHP Lucas Giolito and RHP Reynaldo Lopez
This came off the heels of the last trade we’ll highlight, but this trade confirmed the direction the White Sox were heading into which was rebuilding. The Sox traded Eaton, who was fantastic in his time in Chicago. He was never an All-Star but the Sox could always count on him for near .290 average, 10 home runs, 80 runs, 50 RBIs, 15 stolen bases, .350+ on-base percentage, great defense and unmatched hustle. Unfortunately, his time with the NL-favorite Washington Nationals was cut very short when he tore his ACL and his meniscus in an awful play at first base. He only played 23 games in 2017.
Eaton’s last contribution to the White Sox was the incredible package of prospects they received from the Nationals. Current stellar starting pitchers Lopez and Giolito have been as good as advertised in their first season in Chicago. It’s going to be very exciting to see what those two rocket arms can bring to the table next season. In addition to Lopez and Giolito, the Sox also received phenom Dunning, who was lights out in Single-A ball. He had an ERA of 2.94 in 26 combined starts for Kannapolis and Single-A Advance Winston-Salem with a K/9 rate of 10.5. This might have been the best trade of the season for the Sox because every single one of these players could have a big part of the White Sox future.
Grade: A+ / This for me was the best trade of the year. The Sox gave up a great player in Eaton but received three of the best pitching prospects in baseball and it’s already showing. Comparing to the other trades, where some players won’t probably pan out, these three pitchers look like ‘can’t-miss’ prospects for the future.
December 6, 2016 – Traded LHP Chris Sale to Boston Red Sox for OF Basabe, RHP Victor Diaz, RHP Michael Kopech and INF Yoan Moncada
This is the trade that started it all. Sale was in line to be one of the best White Sox pitchers in history, if not the best. The five-time All-Star was coming off another stellar year in 2016. The value and the price was extremely high and rightfully so. The White Sox were listening to trades all winter until they were offered a deal for the best prospect in baseball and perhaps the future of baseball. The Sox not only received Moncada, but also aqcuired what some are calling the next, best pitcher in the minors.
Sale is in contention for AL Cy Young Award once again and has reached 300 strikeouts for the year, which has not been done since Clayton Kershaw did it in 2015. Before that was 2002 when the Big Unit Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling both reached that milestone.
Meanwhile, Moncada struggled to show off his potential early on but has finally started to pick it up. If Moncada can play in 2017 like he’s been playing in September, he’s going to be great. Kopech also has his eyes on the majors next season which is going to be electric.
Grade: A- / Anytime you get the best rated prospect in the game, it’s almost automatically a successful trade. And when you throw another player like Kopech, it sweetens the deal even more so. What keeps me from saying this was the best trade of the year is that the other players the Sox received in this trade have relatively unknown futures. However, when you get players like Moncada and Kopech, the Sox don’t have a need to complain.
Overall Grade of 2017 Trades: EXCITING.
Next: White Sox Shut Down Lucas Giolito for Remainder of Season
More than half of the players received in these trades have all been the Sox Top 30 list as well as MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 and Baseball America’s Top 100. That’s what I would call a rebuild.