The Astros have traded outfielder Corey Julks to the White Sox, per bulletins from each golf equipment. The Astros, who designated Julks for project final week, will obtain minor league right-hander Luis Rodriguez in return. Julks has been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. To open a 40-man spot for Julks, the Sox designated outfielder Rafael Ortega for project and recalled outfielder Dominic Fletcher to take Ortega’s spot on the lively roster.
Julks, 28, was an eighth-round decide of the Astros again in 2017 and wasn’t actually thought-about a really noteworthy prospect within the years following that choice. He put himself on the radar with a powerful 2022 season, hitting 31 house runs and stealing 22 bases in 130 Triple-A video games. Within the hitter-friendly surroundings of the Pacific Coast League, his .270/.351/.503 batting line led to a 108 wRC+.
That acquired him to the massive leagues in 2023 however he didn’t instantly hit the bottom working within the majors. He stepped to the plate 323 instances for the Astros final yr and hit .245/.297/.352 for a wRC+ of 80, although he additionally stole 15 bases and acquired strong grades for his outfield protection.
He’s been again at Triple-A this yr and has one other 5 house runs and 6 extra steals in 31 video games. His 12.8% stroll charge is just a few factors larger than the 9.5% charge he had in 2022. His general manufacturing this yr is taken into account to be round league common for the PCL, but it surely’s an intriguing mixture of expertise.
Regardless of the fascinating stats, Julks is 28 years previous now and was blocked by a crowded outfield combine in Houston, so that they nudged him off their roster. The White Sox have way more of a necessity and extra of a capability to take an opportunity on a participant like Julks, given their standing as a rebuilding membership.
Giving taking part in time to a veteran can yield to a optimistic end result, because the Sox only in the near past traded Robbie Grossman to the Rangers for Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa. An identical path with a participant like Ortega would have been superb however he hit .071/.176/.071 in his 17 plate appearances for the Sox in latest weeks and wasn’t trending in the direction of any sort of Grossman-like return. The Sox determined it was a greater use of a roster spot to seize Julks and see how issues go along with him, whereas giving Ortega’s spot on the lively roster to Fletcher.
Julks nonetheless has two choices, that means he might doubtlessly be despatched to Triple-A for the remainder of this yr and another. He additionally has lower than a yr of service time, that means he may be cheaply retained for the foreseeable future.
For now, Fletcher will share the massive league taking part in time with guys like Andrew Benintendi, Tommy Pham and Gavin Sheets. Pham is on a one-year deal and will likely be a commerce candidate this summer season. Sheets might maybe be on the block as effectively since he’ll attain arbitration for the primary time this winter and has been in good kind this yr. That would maybe open some taking part in time for Julks later within the yr, although the eventual return of Luis Robert Jr. from the injured record may also be an element. Oscar Colás and Zach DeLoach are additionally on the 40-man however neither is performing particularly effectively on elective project proper now.
For the Astros, they’ve  Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers, Mauricio Dubon, Joey Loperfido and Trey Cabbage of their outfield combine, with prospect Pedro León banging on the door as effectively. Since pitching depth is a higher concern for them, they just lately grabbed Alex Speas off waivers and let go of Julks.
By doing so, they have been not less than ready so as to add a pitching prospect to their system. The 20-year-old Rodriguez tossed 33 innings over 15 appearances within the Dominican Summer time League final yr with a 3.55 earned run common, 32.6% strikeout charge and 4.3% stroll charge. In January, he acquired a quick point out on the FanGraphs record of high White Sox prospect from Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin. They famous that Rodriguez has a fastball within the 88-90 miles per hour vary and a powerful curveball.
The Sox will now have every week to commerce Ortega or cross him by waivers. He was signed to a minor league deal this winter and added to the roster in late April. He has acquired sporadic taking part in time which hasn’t gone effectively for him, as talked about. He has sufficient service time that he can reject an outright project and elect free company. He had a powerful season with the Cubs in 2021, hitting .291/.360/.463 whereas stealing 12 bases and spending a whole lot of time in heart area. However he hit .241/.331/.358 the subsequent yr and acquired non-tendered, with solely restricted large league appears to be like since then.
