2020 OOTP sim: Trade mania
CLEVELAND — Before the opener of a series against first-place Cleveland there was an additional roster shakeup for the Chicago White Sox.
First, Luis Robert (broken thumb, five weeks) and Leury García (strained quad, four weeks) both hit the injured list.
Right fielder Yasiel Puig (.726 OPS and 0.3 WAR in 29 games), leaving a trail of dissension behind him in the White Sox clubhouse, was swapped along with struggling Charlotte first baseman Gavin Sheets to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Triple-A starters Mitchell White and Dennis Santana and Double-A reliever Marshall Kasowski. White and Santana will join the Charlotte pitching staff, while Kasowski, with 23 saves and a 0.35 ERA in 26 games for the Tulsa Drillers, makes the leap to the big leagues.
Kelvin Herrera (6.63 ERA in 15 games), with a star-crossed season in Chicago, was shipped to the Boston Red Sox along with Charlotte first baseman Matt Skole (.242/.322/.358 slash with just four homers in 53 games) for three center fielders: Cuban bonus baby Rusney Castillo (Skole-comparable numbers), Keith Curcio (Triple-A, ) and Matt McPhearson (Double-A). The White Sox get $5 million in the deal to cover most of Castillo's $6.2 million salary for the season, giving the White Sox a net $2.7 million in the deal. Castillo has been placed on waivers but is not expected to be claimed, so he should report to Charlotte. Both McPhearson and Curcio have been promoted to the White Sox.
Left-handed reliever Roenis Elias was also successfully claimed on waivers from the Nationals. Elias had a 3.67 ERA in 33 games for Washington this season, good for 0.3 WAR. He has yet to be designated between Chicago and Charlotte.
Andrew Vaughn was promoted to Charlotte, highlighting a flurry of designations in the minors.
And prior to the finale of the Cleveland series, the White Sox struck the most major trade of the weekend. Chicago traded away starter Gio González (5-3, 4.66 ERA, 0.7 WAR), catcher Zack Collins (.206/.229/.412 with six homers in 32 games for the White Sox after mashing the ball again in Charlotte), Charlotte outfielder Gorkys Hernandez (longtime vet, 0.6 WAR between Double- and Triple-A) and High-A reliever Bryan Mitchell (4.50 ERA in 17 games) to the Padres.
Coming back from San Diego are All-Star reliever Kirby Yates (19 saves, 2.97 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 1.3 WAR), catcher Luis Torrens (.325/.370/.509 with 1.9 WAR and a 65-level arm at Triple-A), starter Cal Quantrill (6-2 with a 3.13 ERA, 1.5 WAR in 13 starts at Triple-A) and swingman Matt Strahm (2.08 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 0.8 WAR in 23 games with the Padres).
Yates will join the White Sox bullpen and assume closer duties, more or less. Torrens will pair with Yasmani Grandal (.605 OPS and -0.1 WAR in 58 games) in a straight platoon at catcher.
"We've seen an uptick in sales at the box office in just the few hours since the [Yates] trade was announced," White Sox marketing VP Brooks Boyer said after the flurry of activity. "And we're going to get right to promoting our All-Star!"
Actor (final credit: murdered by Albert Einstein in "Carnage Hall"), musician (Ethnocentric Republicans), and Nerf hoops champion, Wiffleball aficionado and onetime bilingual kindergarten teacher, Brett Ballantini also writes about baseball, basketball and sometimes hockey, for the NBA, MLB, NHL, and Slam, Hoop, Sporting News, the Athletic, SB Nation and others. He was CSN Chicago’s Blackhawks beat writer when their 49-year Stanley Cup drought ended in 2009-10, and took over the White Sox beat after that. He currently is the editor-in-chief of South Side Hit Pen and beat writer for Inside the Rays. He also wrote a book about Ozzie Guillén but is running out of space, so follow him on Twitter @BrettBallantini and he'll probably tell you even more about himself than you ever wanted to know.