White Sox Get Bats Back for Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham

In the present day 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 alternate 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 complicated. You possibly can learn in regards to the Cardinals and Dodgers elements of the commerce right here.

The White Sox had principally 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 a bit 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 a good 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 placing out 209 and strolling simply 35. He was named the KBO’s MVP and gained their equal of the Cy Younger. Getz and the White Sox guess a really modest quantity ($15 million over two years) that Fedde’s enhancements would translate to the large leagues, and so they have been proper. Fedde has pitched effectively and became a prospect piñata. Pham’s wage was a bit over $2 million. Primarily paying to accumulate prospects (particularly hitters) is strictly what a crew just like the White Sox needs to be doing, and over the course of about eight months they’ve executed that with Fedde and Pham.

An enormous a part of the explanation 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 effectively, if in any respect. That has turned out to be true and, after making an attempt a couple of infield positions apart from his native third base, Vargas moved to left subject 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, nevertheless it’s conceivable he might enhance as he continues to play there. I haven’t heard from anybody within the org as as to if the White Sox will revisit the infield with Vargas. In the event that they do it might strike me as a 2025 spring coaching activity quite than one thing they ask Vargas to do instantly.

Vargas is missing the uncooked energy typical of a fantastic left fielder. He’s not an particularly explosive swinger and relies on his really feel for sweet-spot contact to generate extra-base energy. The mix 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 typical MLB left fielder:

These are strong numbers that again up the visible scouting report that it is a skills-over-tools sort of hitter. I believe he may 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 needs to be given an enormous 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 will not be taking part in effectively 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 recognized with a decrease leg fracture a bit over per week in the past and placed on the IL. Albertus’ identify 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 (principally 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 laborious 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 Díaz department of the infield prospect tree (OBP and speak to expertise, third base match, much less energy than you need) the place Díaz is what occurs when the athlete turns into very, very sturdy deep into his twenties. Paths to an on a regular basis function will in all probability require that of Albertus. He’s extra more likely to be a utility man.

If you need proof of Albertus’ shot to get sturdy, look no additional than Jeral Perez. Perez has already develop into far 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 means of contact permit him to be on time with regularity, however his really feel for transferring the barrel round will not be 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 situated on the upper-and-outer quadrant of the strike zone. Perez is a equally a blended 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 arms (which can in all probability get higher) and mediocre vary (which possible won’t as he ages). That is the type of second baseman who lacks vary however who’s nice across the bag and mainly common general. I like his probabilities 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 a superb quantity of danger and variance. This isn’t the kind of athlete who finally ends up with defensive versatility, so he’s going to need to hold hitting.

You possibly can 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 function 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 toes 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 should always take into consideration Gonzalez, who would in all probability get about $750,000 to $1 million in bonus cash. He has been added towards the underside of the Dodgers record.