Chicago White Sox: A closer look at the Cesar Hernandez trade

While other teams were making a huge splash as Major League Baseball’s trading deadline drew near, the Chicago White Sox decided to go ahead and jump in the trade pool themselves. The Sox decided to fill an important need. This need had been beckoning since earlier in the season when second baseman Nick Madrigal went out with an injury.

The White Sox took their need there and turned it into something valuable when they traded for Cesar Hernandez this past Thursday. Hernandez, formerly of the Cleveland Indians, comes over from one of the White Sox biggest rivals. That might be considered a little odd. But in baseball, trading with a rival is commonplace. Just look at the two trades the Sox made with the Chicago Cubs right before the deadline.

Driving for success has no barriers in baseball. But just how much talent did the White Sox add to their roster trading for Hernandez? Let’s look at the numbers. Hernandez comes into Chicago with a slash line of .231/.307/.431. He has batted in 47 runs and has 18 home runs to his credit. Seeing this, it would appear as if Hernandez can hit the ball and provide at least a little bit of offense. The White Sox could really use that right now.

This may spell the end of a lot of playing time for Danny Mendick. Hernandez is clearly the better player and so Mendick will see the field much less often. Right now, it’s hard to tell what the White Sox are going to do for depth behind Hernandez but luckily, they have the pieces to have that depth and keep performing at that position.

The Chicago White Sox made a great trade to land Cesar Hernandez from Cleveland.

In return for Hernandez, the White Sox gave the Indians a minor league pitcher, left-hander Konnor Pilkington. The move also forced the White Sox to create an opening on their 40-man roster so that meant that right-handed pitcher Tyler Johnson was let go.

On its face, it would appear as if the Sox didn’t give up a whole lot of Hernandez. Still, good pitching is always hard to come by so let’s hope that Pilkington doesn’t turn into a superstar and make the Sox regret letting him go.

Now, do the White Sox have what it takes to get to the World Series? Is Hernandez the piece of the puzzle that they have been needing? Will he help the offense increase their productivity and thus win more games? Is he going to play lights out defensive baseball? Can he be a leader in the clubhouse? These are all things that are important to the White Sox.

He just might be what the White Sox needed. We now know that Hernandez is going to end up replacing Nick Madrigal who was traded to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Craig Kimbrel. Hernandez does have some big shoes to fill but he should be able to fill them. He looks to be a solid addition to the White Sox and could help them get over the top and win a World Series.

This move was a good one for the Sox, we hope, in the long run. In the short term, it should pay dividends but it’s not likely that Hernandez was the last piece of the puzzle for the White Sox to make it to the World Series. They are going to need a push from everyone to get to the World Series and win it. Consider this a good trade and one that will help the White Sox out for seasons to come.