Despite first base logjam, the A's will never trade Tyler Soderstrom to the White Sox

Tyler Soderstrom destroyed the White Sox when the Athletics were in Chicago.

The 23-year-old, left-handed slugger went 5-for-14 with three home runs and seven RBI as the A's outscored the Sox 23-4 at Rate Field last week.

Watching him crush home runs made you think how nice it would be for him to play for the White Sox. Imagine how many dingers he would be crushing in his career if he played 81 games a year at Sox Park.

Hypothetically speaking, the A's actually have a reason to possibly trade their 2020 first-round pick.

That is because the A's first-round pick last year, Nick Kurtz, is already at the big-league level. His promotion has already pushed Soderstrom down the depth chart at first base.

It has not moved him to the bench as the A's have moved him out to left field. Also, Soderstrom can catch some.

However, the Athletics have a logjam in the outfield, with the team also wanting to make sure Brent Rooker, Miguel Andujar, and Lawrence Butler get at-bats. Shea Langeliers is also entrenched at catcher, so it is not like the A's are looking to make Soderstrom their everyday catcher. The move to left field also gives the impression that they are not considering him as the backup.

With that roster headache, it would technically not be so crazy for the A's to entertain moving the slugging Soderstrom since Kurtz seems more like the long-term guy at first.

Since the White Sox could use his pop in the lineup, there is nothing wrong with dreaming of the Pale Hose pulling off a deal to bring Soderstrom to the Southside.

Leave it as a dream because, beyond the positional logjam, the Athletics have no reason to trade him.

He still has another year left before he is even eligible for arbitration. It seems like the A's are trying to put together a team that will compete when the club officially moves to Las Vegas.

While Soderstrom struggled during his brief cameo last season, his hot start this season is giving off the vibes that is ready to reach his potential.

Andujar is a free agent after this season, so him walking clears up the outfield logjam if Soderstrom proves he can play left field.

The Athletics could use a defensive outfielder like Luis Robert Jr., but he is nowhere close to producing at the levels like he did in 2023 when it would make sense for the A's to give back Soderstrom.

Plus, the White Sox are in prospect collection mode at this point in their rebuild. They want as many young players as possible with upside, whose club control clock has not even begun to start ticking.

The Sox can only afford to trade scratch-off prospects for minimal bullpen help, like with how they got Cam Booser in the offseason.

It would likely take a haul to get Soderstrom, and the White Sox just cannot afford to offer that at this time.