Four separate trades sent six White Sox players away at the deadline, none of which included Garrett Crochet or Luis Robert Jr.

The movement kicked off yesterday in a three-way swap that sent starting pitcher Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham to the St. Louis Cardinals and reliever Michael Kopech to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A press release from the club on Monday provided the details:

CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals have completed a three-team trade:

White Sox Acquire from Los Angeles-NL (3); INFs Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus, Jeral Perez and a Player to be Named Later or cash considerations;

White Sox Trade to St. Louis (2): RHP Erick Fedde, OF Tommy Pham and cash considerations;

White Sox Trade to Dodgers (1); RHP Michael Kopech;

Dodgers Acquire from St. Louis (2): INF Tommy Edman and RHP Oliver Gonzalez;

Dodgers send Player to be Named Later or Cash Considerations to St. Louis.

The Sox’s top acquisition in the three-team trade is 24-year-old Vargas, whom the team immediately added to its 26-man roster and inserted into the lineup as DH on Tuesday. A Cuban native, the infielder made his major league debut in 2023 for the Blue Crew but struggled, slashing only .195/.305/.367 in 81 games.

This year, he’s fared a bit better, hitting 239/.313/.423 with three home runs, nine RBIs, 11 runs, and eight walks in 30 games with a 107 OPS+. In 2023, MLB placed him 37th in their overall prospect rankings based on an outstanding minor league performance in 2022, where he slashed .304/.404/.511 with 17 home runs, 82 RBIs, and a .915 OPS in 113 games. He was also named the 2022 Triple-A Player of the Year and Dodgers Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America.

One of Vargas’ most significant issues in L.A. was a lack of consistent playing time, which might be contributing to his not meeting expectations. Once touted as a prospect with elite bat-to-ball skills and control of the strike zone, those abilities have yet to show themselves at the big league level. Playing time should not be a problem in Chicago, and with plenty of playing time to finish the season, we should have a better idea of what Vargas might bring.

Overall, there’s been a lot of noise on social media as fans eviscerate GM Chris Getz regarding this trade. I’m not a Getz defender, but judging this one on paper is pretty difficult. And let’s be honest, the Sox won’t likely be contenders again until 2027. I’m way over trying to speculate too much about how prospects will shake out. After all, look what happened with the Chris Sale/Yoán Moncada deal. Many of us thought we had won the lotto. I’m just not going down that road again.

Tuesday, the transactions continued as Chicago sent infielder Paul DeJong across the diamond to the Kansas City Royals in return for pitcher Jarold Rosado. The Crowns signed Rosado, a 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic, to an international free agent deal in 2020. Over 27 Single-A appearances this season, the righthander has a 1.85 ERA with 45 strikeouts and 11 walks in 39 innings. It’s not too bad of a get for a veteran on a one-year deal. The Sox purge DeJong’s remaining $1.75 million in salary and get a young arm in return.

Feel-good story Tanner Banks may get a lovely fairy tale ending as the White Sox send him to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for infield prospect William Bergolla. Banks will replace lefty Gregory Soto, who the Phillies traded to the Orioles today. Banks didn’t make his major league debut until he was 30 years old, and was a consistent and reliable piece of the South Side pen.

The 19-year-old Bergolla has a pretty low ceiling with a potentially high floor, ranking 11th in Philadelphia’s prospect list for 2024. The scouting report on the Venezuelan native reports him to have a high baseball IQ and low chase rate—both of those sound good to me. As with any player this young, it’s going to be a crap shoot. At the very least, here’s another fun, young player to keep an eye out for.

In the surprise and final move of the day, the Baltimore Orioles acquired designated hitter Eloy Jiménez from the Good Guys for southpaw Trey McGough. The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted the 26-year-old in Round 24 of the 2019 MLB Draft, and the O’s picked him up in the 2022 Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. A starter-turned-reliever, the lefty had Tommy John surgery in June 2022. He’s currently in Triple-A and is 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA in 28 appearances between Double- and Triple-A.

Primarily viewed as a salary dump move by the Pale Hose, getting McGough was a bonus that could possibly be a win-win for both teams. Eloy was one of the biggest busts of the rebuild, and a change in scenery could greatly benefit the slugger. I wish the Big Baby all the best and hope he unearths that power swing; I’ll always pull for you, Eloy!

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