Having lost 19 of 29, the struggling White Sox won’t rest on their laurels after acquiring right-hander James Shields on Saturday. General manager Rick Hahn said today that the Shields trade won’t be the team’s last move, noting that the Sox have the money and prospects to make more deals (Twitter link via Bruce Levine of 670 The Score). They could seek a left-handed bat and-or a setup man, according to Levine (Twitter link).
More from around the AL:
- The last-place Rays aren’t ready to sell yet, but they could be “very active” in shopping players prior to the deadline if they don’t begin climbing up the standings, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports. The Rays are deep in both pitching and outfielders, two areas that will be in demand, and infielder Steve Pearce could also draw plenty of interest. After a disappointing showing last season, Pearce has returned to his 2014 form in slashing .302/.389/.527 with eight home runs and nearly as many walks (18) as strikeouts (22) in 149 plate appearances. The 33-year-old, who’s on a palatable $4.75MM salary, is scheduled to become a free agent at season’s end.
- The Rangers are likelier to use their assets to upgrade their pitching – both the rotation and bullpen – than make a deal for Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, says Rosenthal. While no buyer has been connected to Lucroy more than the Rangers in recent months, their backstops have exceeded expectations this season and the injured Robinson Chirinos is nearing a return.
- In other Rangers news, the team will make a concerted effort to get infielder Jurickson Profar more playing time if he continues performing well, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. “It’s important he plays,” president and general manager Jon Daniels said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean every day, but we want to keep him in the flow and keep him going.” The former elite prospect has collected 12 hits, including two home runs, in his first 33 plate appearances this year. If Profar continues holding his own, Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland and Elvis Andrus will all be at risk of losing playing time.
- Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray will start for the club Sunday after he made a quick recovery from the trapezius strain that forced him to the disabled list two weeks ago (via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle). Gray performed like an ace over his first two-plus seasons in the majors from 2013-15, but he got off to an uncharacteristically awful start this year before landing on the DL. Manager Bob Melvin attributes that, at least in part, to the injury. “A lot of the command issues stemmed from what was going on in his trap,” he said. “He wasn’t able to extend like he wanted to and had a little trouble commanding the baseball. So those issues are resolved.” Gray will now try to improve on the 6.19 ERA and 4.50 BB/9 he posted over his first nine starts (48 innings) of 2016.
The White Sox have no prospects. They haven’t developed a position player in many years. They don’t know how! So they’ll take some prospects and trade them for a do nothing player like Samarija or now Shields. Frazier is falling into that category also even with his home runs.
While that may be somewhat true in regards to developing position players, they clearly have enough prospects that are considered good enough to get deals done.
this. teams go beyond “baseball americas” top prospects.
If Reinsdorf were alive he wouldn’t have let this team get so bad. Attendance is horrible and so is his team. Hahn can’t put a team together. But that’s ok. Nobody’s held accountable.
I don’t know why you keep saying this. But, HE IS ALIVE. HE DID NOT DIE
Hey moron. He is alive you idiot
If he were alive , he wouldn’t have put up with this crap for four years.
frazier has a 118 ops and is currently a 1.5 WAR player which means he will probably end up around last years WAR at 4 in a new league.
Great player. 4 th place , here come the sox. Thanks Williams and Co.
The White Sox certainly had enough “prospects” to secure major improvements at 3B and 2B this off-season with the trades that brought them Todd Frazier and Brett Lawrie. They also still retain two top fifty prospects in pitcher Carson Fulmer and SS Tim Anderson, along with some decent system wide pitching depth from which to deal if necessary. The White Sox can also fortify their organization with three selections in the top 49 of next weeks June amateur draft, including two first round picks at #10 and #26. They will also have some money to spend in the international draft later this summer.
Improvements????? They’ll be in 4th place in a couple of days. LOOK AT THE STANDINGS.
Elvis Andrus is having one of his best seasons at the plate right now. He’s in no danger of losing playing time to Profar.
Yes he is. He isn’t stealing bases and his defense has gotten progessively worse, those are what gave him value. Just because he has only been 8% worse than league average at the plate rather than 20% doesn’t mean he can’t sit.
A steal of third and a 3 run home run later….
I disagree entirely. Elvis is having arguably the best season I have ever seen him play. There is no way Profar takes playing time away from him right now.
Your letting your personal feelings about Elvis blind you of see his atrocious career numbers, and just because his numbers this year are marginally better doesn’t mean he’s having a good year, it’s just goes to show how bad he’s done in the past!!!
how is a .300 hitter with the second most steals on the team an unproductive player?
also he is part of a double play tandem that has turned the most in the league. Do you actually watch Rangers baseball?
Logan Morrison has really turned his season around as well. He and Pearce are great rentals for a contender looking for 1st/DH help.
I doubt Andrus loses time. Moreland and fielder more likely to lose playing time. It’s been rough for them and profar looks good at lead off for the Rangers. Although, when Choo comes back, it might force them to option either profar, or Alberto.
Uhhh Alberto is already in AAA.
Put Profar at 1B and Moreland in the bull pen.
Just saw that they optioned Alberto. Still hardly unlikely either Odor or Andrus lose playing time. JD is a firm believer in that infield. The most likely case would be for them to keep profar in the majors to build his value. Trade for starting pitching in the mid season. Probably trade away holland or something maybe AJ griffin in the package for a reliable pitcher.
Anyone know What’s wrong with PrinceFielder ?
Yeah… He’s too old for his type of body style (the Fat kind!!!)
The White Sox are not done pursuing deals, nor should they be. Their #1 priority is now to find another productive bat for the middle of the batting order, preferably one who hits left-handed. More bullpen depth would be welcome, in addition to an upgrade behind the plate.