Sunday, August 31, 2014

White Sox Waiver Deals

With the waiver trade deadline approaching tonight, the Chicago White Sox have already made three waiver deals to date.  Second baseman Gordon Beckham was moved to the Los Angeles Angels ten days ago for a player to be named later. Yesterday, outfielder Alejandro De Aza was dealt to the Baltimore Orioles for minor league pitchers Miguel Chalas and Mark Blackmar. And today, designated hitter Adam Dunn was shipped to the Oakland Athletics for pitching prospect Nolan Sanburn. Since all three players were struggling offensively this season and none were in the long-term plan for general manager Rick Hahn, all three trades made sense for the future of the club.

In return, the White Sox will receive four low-end prospects, with Sanburn being probably the most intriguing player. Sanburn is a right-handed relief pitcher and was ranked as the 12th best prospect in the Oakland organization by MLB.com. Sanburn has fanned 73 batters in 71.1 innings while owning a 3.28 ERA in High-A ball. While it is always nice to stock-pile pitching prospects for a team that desperately needs bullpen help in the future, these deals were more about clearing roster space and saving a little money.

These three moves have already allowed for infielder Carlos Sanchez and first baseman Andy Wilkins to be called up, and several more additions will likely follow in September. Along with Sanchez and Wilkins, look for players like Marcus Semien and Jarrod Mitchell to see increased playing time at second base and left field respectively. During the final four weeks, it will be interesting to see if any of the young players step up and excel with their opportunities. The White Sox sure would prefer to fill those three positions from within the organization going forward, but they will also have some money to spend in the offseason if needed with plenty of salaries coming off the books in 2015.

-Eric Tichelbaut


Twitter: @etichel07

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