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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