Welcome to your weekly News and Notes, and to the deadline trade season now well underway. The Sox have already made two trades, with more appearing likely very soon. We’ve also got a quick list of updates on some player injuries, along with the usual updates on transactions, and news and more from the White Sox minor league affiliates.
Trade Season in Bloom
The flood gates have opened and for the White Sox, the deadline trade period started with a big bang. In a rare large-scale cross-town trade, the Sox sent LHP Jose Quintana to the Cubs in exchange for prospects Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Matt Rose and Bryant Flete. Details can be found at that link, but the very short version is that the Sox acquired a top ten MLB prospect, another in the top 100, and two lower level prospects. The general feeling across the media seems to be that the White Sox now have one of the two or three deepest farm systems in all of baseball.
Just a few days later, the Pale Hose made a generally anticipated trade away of international amateur spending cap (which for practical purposes they won’t use due to the Luis Robert signing). The amount of spending room transferred is not yet published, but in return the Sox received infield prospect Yeyson Yrizzari. You can read about that trade in detail here.
It’s a seemingly safe assumption that the trades are not over yet for the South Siders. Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Anthony Swarzak all look like to be exchanged for more prospect depth, and yet others are also on the radar. So keep your eyes and ears peeled – we will write up any prospect acquisitions on the blog.
Some Injury and Status Updates
- The White Sox confirmed our fears, announcing that key relief pitching prospect Zack Burdi has a torn UCL and will likely require Tommy John surgery. This means his earliest likely return to play would be late 2018, with 2019 more likely.
- Shortstop Luis Curbelo has still not returned to play since being sent to the complex in Arizona to have a knee problem checked out. No word from the club on his status.
- OF Alex Call continues to rehab with the AZL club, but it appears he’s struggling to get back to game speed based on his performance and a recent local report.
- RHP Matt Cooper remains on the Temporary Inactive list. Cooper opened the season pitching very well with Brimingham, before his numbers turned south and he was deactivated in late June. We are told it is a personal issue away from baseball, that it is not a PED or suspension issue, nor is he hurt. That’s all we have, and we certainly all hope for the best for Matt.
Transactions
Charlotte
- 1B Danny Hayes placed on the Temporary Inactive list (for the IL All Star Game), then reactivated after
- INF Yoan Moncada activated from the Temporary Inactive list (from Futures Game)
- OF Willy Garcia optioned to Charlotte
- RHP Zack Burdi placed on the Disabled List
- SS Everth Cabrera released by the White Sox
Birmingham
- OF Hunter Jones activated from the Disabled List
- C Alfredo Gonzalez activated from the Disabled List
- C Chris O’Dowd placed on the Disabled List
- 1B Cameron Seitzer placed on the Disabled List
- RHP Michael Kopech activated from the Temporary Inactive list (from Futures Game)
- INF Danny Mendick promoted to Birmingham from Winston-Salem (corresponding move pending)
Winston-Salem
- RHP Drew Hasler assigned back to Winston-Salem from his brief visit to Birmingham
- C Zack Collins activated from the Temporary Inactive list (from Futures Game)
- LHP Ryan Riga placed on the Disabled List
- INF Sam Dexter placed on the Disabled List
- OF Eloy Jimenez added to Winston-Salem (from Quintana trade)
- 1B Matt Rose added to Winston-Salem (from Quintana trade)
- INF Bryant Flete added to Winston-Salem (from Quintana trade)
- 1B Telvin Nash released by the White Sox
- OF Landon Lassiter released by the White Sox
- INF Yeyson Yrizarri added to Winston-Salem (from the Intl Equity trade)
Kannapolis
- C Daniel Gonzalez assigned back to Kannapolis from Winston-Salem
- RHP Dylan Cease added to Winston-Salem (from Quintana trade)
Great Falls
- C Nate Nolan assigned back to Great Falls from Kannapolis
- LHP Ryan Boelter assigned back to Great Falls from Kannapolis
- SS/2B Amado Nunez promoted to Great Falls from AZL
AZL White Sox
- OF Jose Garcia assigned to the AZL White Sox
DSL White Sox
- No transactions
For the Record
- With the AAA All Star break occurring early in the week, the Knights only played four games and won just one of them. That 1-3 week puts the Knights at 40-52 overall on the season, in 3rd place (of 4 teams) in the International League South.
- Birmingham posted a winning week at 4-3. That puts them in last place in the Southern League’s North Division, 9 games back at 10-14. Their overall mark is 36-57 as the Barons continue to struggle through a tough season.
- The Dash have begun to benefit from the influx of prospect talent that started in late June with promotions from Kannapolis, and now the additions of prospects acquired via trades. After posted a rough 24-46 record in the first half, they are now 12-11 in the second half and sitting in second place (4 games back) in the Carolina League’s Southern Division. This past week the Dash posted a 4-1 mark, and had one game rained out as well.
- Kannapolis went 2-4 on the week, but the good news is the two wins were on the two most recent games. The Intimidators are at 10-14 in the second half and in 6th place, 4 games out of first. That’s not quite the torrid pace that won them their division in the first half, but the recent additions of high-round draft picks as well as Dylan Cease should give them a chance to roar back.
- Great Falls booked a 2-3 week, as they continue some organizationally uncharacteristic struggles in the Pioneer League. Their 10-16 mark puts them in last place in the PIO North, though only 3.5 games out for the first half. This is a club that has made the playoffs for all but one of the last dozen seasons, and they’ll need to do some work to get back to that baseline.
- The AZL White Sox went 3-2 in the last week, and now sit at 8-10 overall, good for third place and four games back in the Central Division.
- The DSL affiliate went 2-3 since our last report, and are 14-21 overall on the season.
In Case You Missed It
- Our report on the details of Jose Quintana trade, focused on each of the four acquired prospects
- Bag-A-Donuts Sports did a fun write-up of the Quintana trade by using two writers – one Sox, one Cubs – to cover the impact from each perspective
- In-depth look at Yeyson Yrizarri and the trade that brought him to the White Sox, with video
- Shaun Kernahan’s in-person report for Minor League Ball on the AZL White Sox, specifically focused on Evan Skoug and Alex Call
- Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports plants a flag, stating that the White Sox now have the best farm system in baseball, while others see the Braves keeping that title. A good look at the battle here from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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