Just as Nick Madrigal was getting hot at the plate, disaster strikes.
Madrigal becomes the latest White Sox player to go down with a potentially serious injury. While attempting to beat out a ground-ball, Nick seemed to step awkwardly as he missed the base, and hobbled to the ground.
Nick Madrigal left the game with right hamstring soreness and will be further evaluated tomorrow.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 10, 2021
If he pulled a hamstring, that would probably be the best-case scenario. Many are fearing it could be an Achilles, which would likely shut him down for the rest of the season.
Nick had really been starting to sting the baseball too, which really makes this hurt even more. In the month of June, Nick is hitting .400 with a 196 wRC+ (96% better than league average). He also has the most hits out of any player on the team this year. Lack of power be damned, that’s a really solid bat that the team just lost.
Rick Hahn is going to have to work some serious magic if Nick does end up being seriously hurt. With that being said, here are a couple of names to look for in a trade.
Ketel Marte
Ketel Marte is a great player on a bad team in the Arizona Diamondbacks. He plays 2nd base but can also handle right field if needed. This year he is slashing .366/.400/.581. He also replaces Madrigal’s role of being a contact hitter and only strikes out 15% of the time. This is a guy who put up 7.0 fWAR in 2019, so you know what his ceiling is.
Adam Frazier
Another good player, another bad team. Frazier would be a perfect fit on this team because he is so versatile. He could play 2nd base and the outfield. He is slashing .330/.391/.472 and has already accumulated 1.7 fWAR. He strikes out less than Marte, while walking more as well. The Pirates are an absolute joke of a baseball team and should focus on rebuilding their farm. Frazier is an obvious trade piece for Pittsburg and it should shock no one when he is dealt. Where he is dealt is the mystery yet to be solved. But it could easily be the White Sox.
A Deal Must Be Imminent
If Madrigal’s injury does indeed end up being serious, it will essentially force the front office to make a trade. You could maybe see them not get too aggressive and use the return of Eloy and Robert as team upgrades. Now they won’t be able to do that with 2 positions opening up on the lineup card. We’ve seen Hahn make blockbuster deals in the offseason, now he has to hit on a mid-season move.
Maybe it’s one of those injuries that looked a lot worse than it was, but the vibes definitely aren’t good right now. No team can afford to lose 3 core members of the team at once. That depth just isn’t possible and is something no one can plan for. And with Cleveland still right in the thick of the division race, they can’t afford to sit on their hands and wait for them to crawl back into first.
The injury coupled with the loss made today the worst day Sox fans have had in a while. Let’s hope for the best-case scenario when we learn more tomorrow.
