The Chicago White Sox might want to stop conducting trades with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers always seem to benefit while the White Sox always come out as the losers.
The Dodgers' bullpen got a major lift last season when GM Chris Getz traded Michael Kopech to Los Angeles as part of a three-team deal. Kopech went on to record some huge outs in October on the Dodgers way toward winning the World Series.
The three-team deal also got the Dodgers Tommy Edman, who won World Series MVP, from the St. Louis Cardinals.
Miguel Vargas' hot May is the only reason the White Sox look to be coming out ahead of St. Louis in that transaction. But that is more of a player development win for the White Sox than a front office win. Vargas was also terrible for the White Sox when he first came to the South Side in 2024.
A swing adjustment had to be made in late April to get Vargas going. If that adjustment was not made, I feel like Vargas would still be hitting under .200 and may not even be with the organization. The credit should go to the coaches and player development staff for salvaging something out of a trade that was headed towards disaster.
White Sox lost the Lance Lynn trade
The White Sox already appear to have lost the Lance Lynn trade, which they made with the Dodgers a couple years ago.
Former White Sox GM Rick Hahn acquired young pitchers Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure in the 2023 trade deadline deal. Nastrini was considered a Dodgers top 10 prospect, while Leasure also had a lot of promise as an MLB reliever.
Veteran outfielder Trayce Thompson was also included in the return and veteran reliever Joe Kelly went to Los Angeles in the trade.
Lynn provided the Dodgers a starter their injury-ravaged rotation needed to get into the postseason. Lynn was awful in his only postseason start in 2023, but he was 7-2 with a respectable 4.36 ERA down the home stretch of the regular season.
The Dodgers still came out looking good in that trade. The club needed a boost in their rotation to make the playoffs, and Lynn gave it to them. The White Sox, on the other hand, appear to be getting no benefits from the trade.
White Sox lose Nick Nastrini
Trayce Thompson played 36 games in his return to the South Side. He hit .171 with a .493 OPS as Chicago limped to the finish line of 2023.
Nick Nastrini was just waived by the White Sox and picked up by the Miami Marlins. It was a surprising move considering the Sox made no official announcement that he was waived. He was still ranked among the White Sox's top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.
Nastrini was struggling with a 7.51 ERA in Charlotte this season. His struggles were so bad as a starter that he was moved to the bullpen. It would have been nice to see him get sent to the team's spring training facility for an "Arizona Reset," much like his Charlotte teammate Jairo Iriarte got.
Instead, the White Sox gave up on Nastrini. It is an interesting decision because he did show some promise last season in nine MLB appearances. He struggled with his command and finished the season with a 1.91 WHIP and 7.07 ERA, but there were occasional outing where his poitential was obvious.
On August 29, Nastrini did six innings and surrendered just one run on three hit against a formidable Texas Rangers lineup.
Jordan Leasure is still with the White Sox, but he has been inconsistent coming out of the bullpen. I ranked him at the bottom of the bullpen "trust tree."
Leasure has struggled with his command, currently holding a 1.58 WHIP. Opponents are hitting .308 with a 1.028 OPS in tie game situations when he is on the mound.
Leasure got off to a great start last season, but struggled as the season wore on. He was demoted to Triple-A twice in 2024. and never pitched for the big-league team after July 14.
He has got some impressive stuff, but doesn't seem to have the clutch gene necessary to be a back-end option in the bullpen.
The Dodgers got the short-term benefit they were looking for in the trade. With Nastrini being claimed, the White Sox now have one less pitcher to provide the long-term help they desired in the 2023 deal.
If Leasure busts, then this will be another example of the Dodgers ripping off the White Sox.