On July 31st, 2023 the Chicago White Sox made a controversial trade, sending fan-favorite and former first-round draft pick Jake Burger to the Miami Marlins in a trade for pitching prospect Jake Eder.
Eder, a former Vanderbilt Commodore and fourth-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, ascended quickly in Miami's organization. In his first pro season (2021), Eder made 15 starts for AA-Pensacola and posted an ERA of 1.77 with 12.5 K/9.
He struck out 34.5% of the batters he faced that year while generating ground balls on 50.3% of the batted balls in play.
Elbow issues and Tommy John surgery at the end of 2021 sidelined Eder for all of 2022 and beyond. He didn't make his return to the mound until June of 2023.
In the two months after his return, Eder made nine minor league starts with a 3.94 ERA and 11 K/9. That's when former White Sox GM Rick Hahn made the surprising move of offloading Burger for Eder.
While the Sox were obvious sellers at the 2023 deadline, nobody expected Burger, who was under team control through the 2028 season, to be moved. But Hahn took the gamble on Eder's potential anyways.
“By no means did we enter this deadline period thinking, 'All right, we've got to find a home for Jake Burger.' We needed to be compelled to do that, and Eder, we think, has a chance to be very special and help many White Sox teams for a long time going forward," said Hahn back in 2023. Eder was immediately ranked as the 4th best prospect in the White Sox organization after the polarizing trade.
Eder's fall from glory
Things went south almost instantaneously for Eder with the White Sox. He finished the 2023 season with an ERA of 11.42 at AA-Birgmingham while walking 15 batters in 17.1 innings.
While Eder would end up making his major league debut in 2024, the season at large was another failure. In 24 minor league starts split between AA and AAA, Eder's ERA was 6.61 with walks once again being a major concern.
The White Sox gave him a cup of coffee in the major leagues anyways. He made his major league debut on September 17th, 2024 against the Los Angeles Angels. He went two innings and gave up one run while picking up his first big league strikeout.
Eder with the Angels
Eder was with the Sox for Spring Training 2025, but was designated for assignment before the regular season and traded to, ironically, the Los Angeles Angels.
He began the regular season with the AAA Salt Lake Bees while working on adding a sinker to his pitch mix. After just three starts in the Angels organization, Eder was missing bats and joining the major league squad as a member of the bullpen.
Since being recalled on April 26th, Eder has made two appearances and completed two scoreless innings for the Halos. He has not issued a walk and his velocity appears to be up a tick from where it was with the White Sox in the minors.
The 26-year-old southpaw is also using his fastball significantly more than he was with Chicago. 60 percent of his pitches since being called up by L.A. are fastballs.
I'm not sure what the White Sox were missing, but if the Angels unlock Eder's potential that he flashed in 2021, it's going to be a really bad look for the organization.