Right now 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 change 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 facet of the Camelback Ranch advanced. You possibly can learn concerning the Cardinals and Dodgers elements of the commerce right here.
The White Sox had largely gotten pitching again of their earlier trades made beneath new GM Chris Getz, however on this one they turned to hitting, receiving three batters whom I’ve been a little bit decrease on than the prospect-watching consensus. I like all three gamers however don’t love any of them, although I feel Vargas has a possible shot to be an honest on a regular basis participant, and shortly.
The seeds of this deal had been planted when Chicago signed Fedde through the offseason. After a lackluster tenure in Washington, Fedde remade himself in a Scottsdale pitching lab and had an unbelievable 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 wager a really modest quantity ($15 million over two years) that Fedde’s enhancements would translate to the large leagues, and so they had been proper. Fedde has pitched effectively and changed into a prospect piñata. Pham’s wage was a little bit over $2 million. Basically paying to accumulate prospects (particularly hitters) is precisely what a group 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.
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 suppose he may play the infield effectively, if in any respect. That has turned out to be true and, after attempting a number of infield positions apart from his native third base, Vargas moved to left discipline this season. This occurred even because the Dodgers had huge league accidents on the dust, which I feel is telling. He isn’t nice out in left both, but it surely’s conceivable he may 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 job reasonably than one thing they ask Vargas to do immediately.
Vargas is missing the uncooked energy typical of an ideal 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 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:
Miguel Vargas Hit Knowledge 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 High 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 sort of hitter. I feel he may have produced near twentieth on the place (give or take) once 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 enjoying time that his minor league efficiency merited for a lot of the final two seasons, and he needs to be given a giant league alternative instantly in Chicago. Andrew Benintendi is beneath 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 enjoying effectively sufficient to dam Vargas.
The opposite two infielders within the commerce, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Perez, had been each enjoying at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga till Albertus was identified with a decrease leg fracture a little 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 (largely on the rookie stage) who places the bat on the ball and controls the strike zone. He takes a hellacious lower 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 exhausting 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 would possibly 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 get in touch with abilities, third base match, much less energy than you need) the place Díaz 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 would like proof of Albertus’ shot to get robust, look no additional than Jeral Perez. Perez has already change into far more bodily than I might have guessed having watched him a ton in Arizona final yr when he was a compact Others of Be aware-type participant within the Dodgers system. He now has common huge league uncooked energy at age 19 and, bodily, appears to be like maxed out. Perez’s compact construct and robust prime hand via 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 to this point, 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 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 typically struggles to do this. He has flub-prone palms (which can most likely get higher) and mediocre vary (which seemingly is not going to as he ages). That is the kind of second baseman who lacks vary however who’s nice across the bag and principally 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 contemplate 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 preserve 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 position earlier than the deal. He’s a really projectable 6-foot-4 or so, and his fastball presently 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 fairly 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 listing.
