Chris Getz has to be one of the busiest General Managers in all of baseball, as he is constantly trying to improve the White Sox roster. Getz struck again today, as he made a very intriguing trade with the Houston Astros.
The White Sox have announced that they have acquired outfielder Corey Julks from the Houston Astros in exchange for pitcher Luis Rodriguez. This is a nice move, as the White Sox have not gotten much out of their outfielders this season, except for Tommy Pham.
Julks is a 28 year old outfielder who has 93 games of experience in the major leagues, including a very solid run with the Astros last year. He was recently designated for assignment by the Astros, but he has an intriguing amount of upside.
Last year in 298 at-bats, Julks hit .245 with a .297 OBP. He had six home runs, 33 RBIs, and added a nice 15 stolen bases. While the average and the OBP are a bit low, they would rank as some of the better marks on the White Sox this season. He adds an intriguing mix of power and speed to a White Sox lineup that could use it.
While he has not played in the majors in 2024, he has some very solid stats in AAA to start the year. So far, he is hitting .266 with a .358 OBP. He has added five home runs, 15 RBIs, and six stolen bases in 124 at-bats. A very solid start to the season for Julks. According to the White Sox, he will be assigned to AAA, but I’m sure he will be in Chicago very shortly.
This is a great move for the White Sox, as Julks still has a lot of upside and could potentially break out with a more consistent role. I’m not sure how much playing time he will get in Chicago, but he is a good fielder, so he could slot into RF and be an instant upgrade for the defense. Considering Tommy Pham is a lock to be traded before the deadline, he could be in line to take his spot when he is traded. I’m curious to see how the White Sox handle this situation, as they traded a young pitcher for Julks, so there is at least some investment in him.
Luis Rodriguez, the player they traded is currently in the Arizona Complex league for the White Sox, where he has pitched three innings. In his short minor league career, pitching mainly in the Dominican Summer League, he has a 3.93 ERA over 36 innings. He has 49 strikeouts in those innings, which is very good. While not a big name in the system for the White Sox, his early stats are encouraging. This leads me to believe that they will give Julks some solid playing time this year, as you shouldn’t trade young prospects for no reason. If it was a trade for Cash Considerations, it might be a different story.
I like this trade for the White Sox at first glance and I hope they can unlock something with Julks. They can use any help they can get offensively, so let’s hope he can contribute. They are a bit backlogged in the outfield currently, so it should be an intriguing situation to monitor.
