While the White Sox were not nearly as busy as they should have been, they still made four notable trades before the deadline. They traded Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham to the Cardinals and Michael Kopech to the Dodgers in a three team deal that netted them three players. They traded Eloy Jimenez to the Orioles for a pitching prospect, Paul Dejong to the Royals for another pitching prospect, and Tanner Banks to the Phillies for a middle infield prospect.
While none of the prospects received in the trades on Tuesday are considered “high-profile,” they have some decent upside that could help the White Sox not only down the line, but in the near future. Let’s take a look at who the White Sox received in these trades:
Jarold Rosado
Aquired in the Paul Dejong trade with the Royals, Rosado is a 22 year old relief pitcher in single A. On the season he has a 1.85 ERA in 29 games. In those 29 games, he has thrown 39 innings, while striking out 45 batters. He has also kept batters off base this year, as he has an extremely solid 1.05 WHIP.
As a 22 year old in A ball, he could be on his way through the minors quickly. He has made some nice adjustments this season, as he has cut down on his walks significantly. Last year in just 26 innings Rosado walked 23 batters, which is way too many. This year in 39 innings, he has walked just 11, which is a significant upgrade. If he can continue to throw strikes, he could rise up the White Sox prospect rankings. According to his MLB profile he has been assigned to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, so expect him to finish out the year there.
Trey McGough
The return in the Eloy Jimenez trade was relief pitcher Trey McGough. McGough is currently in AAA for Baltimore, where he has a 1.99 ERA in 28 games. In 54.1 innings, he has 54 strikeouts and a .99 WHIP. Considering the output of Eloy Jimenez combined with his salary, this seems to be a very solid return.
McGough is currently 26, so you can expect to see him in Chicago at some point before the season is over.
While this has been his best year in his minor league career so far, he has been a very solid pitcher in his minors career. In 238.1 innings, he boasts a 2.98 ERA with 221 strikeouts. Hitters have not had much luck against him as they have hit only .219 against him.
McGough has the tools to be a very effective left handed reliever out of the pen for the White Sox and he could step into the role that Tanner Banks filled for the White Sox the past few years. This was a much better return than most could have anticipated for Eloy at this point.
William Bergolla
The last prospect the White Sox acquired today was William Bergolla from the Philadelphia Phillies. Bergolla is a 19 year-old second basemen that has been playing in High-A in the Phillies system. According to his MLB profile, it seems he will move over to the Dash, the White Sox High-A affiliate.
On the season Bergolla is hitting .295 with a .350 OBP and a .735 OPS. Those are some very solid numbers for a 19 year old in high-A. He has added one homer, 29 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases as well. Bergolla ranked as the Phillies 11th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline and he has now shifted to 15th on the White Sox list.
While he doesn’t offer much power yet, he has some very good bat-to-ball skills that come in handy when trying to make it to the major leagues. Since he is only 19, it might take a while for him to make it to Chicago, but he could see himself in AA as soon as next year.
Bergolla might be the best prospect acquired on Tuesday and could be fun to watch as he moves throughout the White Sox system. If his bat-to-ball skills progress as he gets promoted, he could profile as a nice leadoff hitter in the bigs.
On one hand I’m happy to wave goodbye to underperformers like Eloy, even though he at least seemed enthused about playing and glad Moncada is gone soon too. Guys who play dumb – how many outs are there, whats a cutoff man?- etc. I won’t miss either. It would be fresh air to have players that hustle, run the bases, play smart ball for a change.
Other hand it looks like a fleecing for now and it’s hard to think current management will be able to turn things around.