Well, Chris Getz and the White Sox have stayed busy as of late, as it is announced that the White Sox and Yankees have agreed on a trade for a pitcher, but not the pitcher the Yankees originally wanted from the White Sox.
The White Sox have traded pitcher Jake Cousins to the Yankees in exchange for cash considerations. In the scheme of things, this is a very minor trade for the White Sox, but the Yankees got a solid depth piece.
Jake Cousins was a non-roster invitee in Spring Training and he pitched pretty solid. Over seven games and seven innings, he had a 1.29 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP. He struck out 11 batters while walking two. He worked well out of the pen, but the White Sox did not see enough out of him to have him on the Opening Day roster, as he missed the cut.
This is a bit surprising, as he pitched much better than Bryan Shaw in the spring, yet Shaw made the roster. I would have much rather had Cousins fighting for the last roster spot than Shaw, but it seems that Pedro Grifol wanted Shaw for the time being.
Cousins has also been solid in the major leagues in his short career, as he owns a 3.08 ERA over 52 innings. He hasn’t gotten a ton of major league work, but he has been good in the opportunities he has been given.
This trade comes as a surprise, as if he was going to accept an assignment to AAA, he would definitely be worth keeping around due to his solid Spring Training as well as his major league experience. Relievers get hurt pretty often, so he would have been a nice replacement. My guess is that he wasn’t too happy about a demotion to AAA, so they worked to find a trade partner in which he can get major league time.
While the White Sox didn’t get much in return, strictly cash considerations, this shows the White Sox may be looking to prioritize younger arms as the season goes on, as opposed to 29 year old pitchers. Whatever the reason for the trade, it shouldn’t have much of an impact on the White Sox for the time being, as they have to cut a member of the bullpen within the next week, as opposed to adding more arms.
