At the moment the White Sox made a three-team commerce with the Cardinals and Dodgers that despatched Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham to St. Louis and Tommy Edman to Los Angeles. In trade for Edman, the Dodgers picked up the prospect tab within the deal, sending Miguel Vargas and teenage Low-A infielders Jeral Perez and Alexander Albertus to the opposite aspect of the Camelback Ranch advanced. You may learn concerning the Cardinals and Dodgers components of the commerce right here.
The White Sox had largely gotten pitching again of their earlier trades made underneath new GM Chris Getz, however on this one they turned to hitting, receiving three batters whom I’ve been just a little decrease on than the prospect-watching consensus. I like all three gamers however don’t love any of them, although I believe Vargas has a possible shot to be an honest on a regular basis participant, and shortly.
The seeds of this deal have been planted when Chicago signed Fedde in the course of the offseason. After a lackluster tenure in Washington, Fedde remade himself in a Scottsdale pitching lab and had an unimaginable 2023 season for the KBO’s NC Dinos, posting a 2.00 ERA in 180.1 innings whereas hanging out 209 and strolling simply 35. He was named the KBO’s MVP and received their equal of the Cy Younger. Getz and the White Sox wager a really modest quantity ($15 million over two years) that Fedde’s enhancements would translate to the large leagues, they usually have been proper. Fedde has pitched properly and was a prospect piñata. Pham’s wage was just a little over $2 million. Primarily paying to amass prospects (particularly hitters) is strictly what a workforce just like the White Sox ought to be doing, and over the course of about eight months they’ve executed that with Fedde and Pham.
A giant a part of the rationale I used to be decrease on prospect-era Miguel Vargas than my sources and friends was as a result of I didn’t assume he might play the infield properly, if in any respect. That has turned out to be true and, after making an attempt a number of infield positions in addition to his native third base, Vargas moved to left area this season. This occurred even because the Dodgers had massive league accidents on the dust, which I believe is telling. He isn’t nice out in left both, however it’s conceivable he might enhance as he continues to play there. I haven’t heard from anybody within the org as as to whether the White Sox will revisit the infield with Vargas. In the event that they do it could strike me as a 2025 spring coaching process reasonably than one thing they ask Vargas to do straight away.
Vargas is missing the uncooked energy typical of a fantastic left fielder. He’s not an particularly explosive swinger and depends upon his really feel for sweet-spot contact to generate extra-base energy. The mixture of Vargas’ plate self-discipline and this slick barrel really feel create sufficient offense for him to be a lower-impact on a regular basis left fielder. Right here’s how a few of his efficiency and talent-indicating metrics examine to that of the common MLB left fielder:
Miguel Vargas Hit Information vs. MLB LF
| Contact% | Z-Contact% | Avg EV | Laborious Hit% | ninetieth% EV | Chase% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miguel Vargas | 80% | 86% | 89.7 | 35% | 102.4 | 20% |
| Avg All LF | 76% | 84% | 89.2 | 40% | 102.7 | 27% |
| Avg Prime 30 LF | 76% | 85% | 90.0 | 43% | 103.9 | 27% |
These are strong numbers that again up the visible scouting report that this can be a skills-over-tools kind of hitter. I believe he could have produced near twentieth on the place (give or take) after we look again in any respect the left fielders throughout the league 5 years from now. The outfielders in entrance of Vargas in Los Angeles blocked him from the large league taking part in time that his minor league efficiency merited for a lot of the final two seasons, and he ought to be given a giant league alternative instantly in Chicago. Andrew Benintendi is underneath contract till… (checking Roster Useful resource… holy shnikes) till 2027, and so the White Sox have to determine what they’re going to do about that. Benintendi isn’t taking part in properly sufficient to dam Vargas.
The opposite two infielders within the commerce, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Perez, have been each taking part in at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga till Albertus was identified with a decrease leg fracture just a little over per week in the past and placed on the IL. Albertus’ title has been bandied about every of the final couple commerce deadlines as a result of he does stuff that appeals to each scouts and analysts. The soon-to-be 20-year-old infielder is a profession .303/.449/.415 hitter (largely on the rookie degree) who places the bat on the ball and controls the strike zone. He takes a hellacious reduce and has been athletic sufficient to take action whereas sustaining strikeout charges down within the 14-18% vary the final two seasons (MLB common is 22%). As onerous as he swings, Albertus doesn’t generate a ton of energy and his swing path runs downhill. He’s a a lot cleaner defensive match at third base than at shortstop, and he may find yourself being fairly good there. (He’s performed all three non-1B infield spots the final couple of seasons.) That is the Yandy DÃaz department of the infield prospect tree (OBP and call expertise, third base match, much less energy than you need) the place DÃaz is what occurs when the athlete turns into very, very robust deep into his twenties. Paths to an on a regular basis position will most likely require that of Albertus. He’s extra more likely to be a utility man.
If you need proof of Albertus’ shot to get robust, look no additional than Jeral Perez. Perez has already change into way more bodily than I might have guessed having watched him a ton in Arizona final 12 months when he was a compact Others of Be aware-type participant within the Dodgers system. He now has common massive league uncooked energy at age 19 and, bodily, seems maxed out. Perez’s compact construct and powerful prime hand by contact permit him to be on time with regularity, however his really feel for transferring the barrel round isn’t nice. Although he’s posted above-average contact charges up to now, I do fear that he’s a candidate to be uncovered by higher fastballs within the higher minors, ones positioned on the upper-and-outer quadrant of the strike zone. Perez is a equally a combined bag on protection; he has acrobatic actions and may actually flip it round as soon as he’s secured the baseball, however he too usually struggles to do this. He has flub-prone palms (which can most likely get higher) and mediocre vary (which possible won’t as he ages). That is the kind of second baseman who lacks vary however who’s nice across the bag and mainly common general. I like his possibilities of attending to energy sufficient that I’ve a precedence grade on Perez (a 40+ FV is sort of a mid-to-late second spherical prospect in a typical draft), however I take into account his profile to have an excellent quantity of danger and variance. This isn’t the kind of athlete who finally ends up with defensive versatility, so he’s going to should hold hitting.
You may see how these guys stack within the White Sox system right here.
Along with Edman, the Dodgers additionally picked up 17-year-old DSL pitcher Oliver Gonzalez on this commerce. He had labored 21.1 innings in a piggyback position earlier than the deal. He’s a really projectable 6-foot-4 or so, and his fastball at the moment sits 89-93 mph with round 20 inches of induced vertical break and simply over 7 ft of extension. His curveball has a pleasant basis of depth and form, however he doesn’t have really feel for finding it. It’s a reasonably good beginning spot for any teenage pitching prospect. Once more, the draft is a pleasant technique to gauge the best way we must always take into consideration Gonzalez, who would most likely get about $750,000 to $1 million in bonus cash. He has been added towards the underside of the Dodgers record.