3 second base trade options for the White Sox to consider
It’s no secret that the Chicago White Sox have struggled to find a viable option at second base since trading away Nick Madrigal. They traded for Cesar Hernandez last season with poor results.
Hernandez batted just .232 with the south siders and only hit three home runs. The White Sox let him walk during the offseason and turned to Leury Garcia and former All-Star Josh Harrison to take over the second base duties. It’s still early but so far it looks like a failed experiment.
Harrison is batting just .145. In his last 30 games and he has just eight hits. Meanwhile, Garcia is hitting .186. Both players look better suited for a role off the bench.
Jake Burger doesn’t have the range to play second base at this point in time and Danny Mendick is not cut out to be an everyday player on a contending team.
It may be in the White Sox’s best interest to add a second baseman at the trade deadline if Harrison or Garcia do not pick up the pace offensively.
Getting Yoan Moncada back in the lineup should provide the offense a boost but with a limited championship window, Rick Hahn should explore all possible avenues to improve the ball club.
The Chicago White Sox needs to consider adding someone to play second base.
Unfortunately for Rick Hahn, the market for infielders may be scarce. The list of rebuilding MLB teams is thin. Complicating matters is the White Sox’s depleted farm system. Hahn will have to get creative when putting together trade packages.
With this in mind, here are three realistic options at second basemen that the White Sox could add at the deadline:
Mike Moustakas
The Chicago White Sox have seen Mike Moustakas a lot over the last few years.
The Cincinnati Reds are off to a historically bad start. Through their first 30 games, they have just six wins. After selling off Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker in the offseason, it would be in their best interest to continue the fire sale before the trade deadline.
Mike Moustakas seems like a logical candidate to be traded. The 33-year-old veteran is not in the Red’s long-term plans. He is a former All-Star and World Series champion that could be a valuable asset in the White Sox clubhouse. He helped lead the Kansas City Royals to the World Series title in 2015.
Moustakas would give Tony La Russa another left-handed power bat. Moustakas is a career .249 hitter but has 197 home runs to his name. He hit 38 home runs in 2017 and 35 in 2019. He has battled injuries the past couple of seasons which should drive down his trade value.
He was limited to just 62 games so now that he is fully healthy, he should return to the player that hits 20 plus home runs a season.
Right now, he has little to no lineup protection in Cincinnati. On the White Sox, he would be surrounded by talent which should help his production at the plate.
Ketel Marte
Ketel Marte is someone that the Chicago White Sox should consider for second.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are another team that figures to be a seller at the trade deadline. They find themselves in last place in the National League West once again.
Ketel Marte has been the Diamondback’s second baseman for the majority of the season. Over the course of his career, Marte has been an excellent hitter. In seven major league seasons, he is a career .284 hitter, with 72 home runs and a .798 OPS.
In 2019, Marte was named to the National League All-Star team. He finished the season with a .329/ .389/.592 slash line. Marte blasted a career-high 32 home runs to go along with 92 RBIs. He was awarded the Diamondbacks MVP that season for his efforts.
The 28-year-old has always been able to hit for average. In 2021, he hit .318 with a .909 OPS. In the White Sox hitter-friendly park, he could see his power surge return.
Defensively, he is also an upgrade. He owns a career .986 fielding percentage. Not only can Marte play second base, but he can also play outfield, shortstop, and third base.
With the White Sox’s depleted farm system, it may be tough for them to put a trade package good enough to acquire him but his bat would be a game-changer in the White Sox lineup. He is a major upgrade over Leury Garcia and Josh Harrison.
Adalberto Mondesi
Adalberto Mondesi is someone that would help the Chicago White Sox a lot.
Inter division trades are rare but that doesn’t mean they can’t happen, just ask Cesar Hernandez. The Kansas City Royals are going nowhere fast this season. They are off to an abysmal 9-17 start.
Adalberto Mondesi could be a name on the Royals to monitor. He does not come without risk. On April 28th, he was placed on the 10-day injured list.
Last August, Royals president Dayton Moore openly doubted Mondesi’s ability to stay healthy for a full season. Nicky Lopez showed that he can be a viable replacement at shortstop and Whit Merrifield seems to be entrenched at second base after surviving trade rumors for the past couple of seasons.
Bobby Witt Jr, the Royals’ top prospect, has also broken into the infield rotation this season. Mondesi owns a very high strikeout rate. Add Mondesi’s high strikeout rate, Moore’s doubts, and the Royals’ infield depth, and Mondesi becomes tradeable.
So why would the White Sox want an injury-prone second baseman with a high strikeout rate? His cost will be low and his upside is tremendous.
While it is true that Mondesi has had some injury troubles, he is a dynamic player with a rare combination of speed and power. Mondesi would give the White Sox a dynamic base stealer which is something they have been lacking the past couple of seasons.
He stole 32 bags in 2018 and 43 in 2019. He then led the league with 24 in just 59 games in 2020. Mondesi’s best season came in 2018 when he hit .276 with 14 home runs and a .804 OPS. The following season, he led the league with 10 triples.
His athleticism allows him to play an above-average shortstop. However, for the White Sox purposes, he would be used at second base. Mondesi is no stranger to second base as he started 40 games there in his rookie season and has appeared in 68 games at second base overall.
His athleticism and versatility also allow him to play third base so he can be plugged in anywhere in the infield. Mondesi is controllable through 2023 so he wouldn’t be a one-year rental for the White Sox and his projected 3.2 million dollar salary still gives them the flexibility to make other moves.
Because he has struggled to stay healthy, this would be a sell-low situation for the Royals meaning the White Sox could get him at a discounted price. Any of these moves could really help their chances.
Related Story. The Chicago White Sox have a date with the New York Yankees. light