The White Sox announced that they’ve claimed first baseman/designated hitter AJ Reed off waivers from the Astros. Injured pitcher Ryan Burr was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Reed, who was designated for assignment by Houston last week, has been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte.
Baseball America once rated the now-26-year-old Reed as the game’s No. 11 overall prospect, but the slugger never lived up to that billing. He’s hit just .153/.253/.244 and punched out 50 times in 150 Major League plate appearances, though it’s also worth emphasizing that Reed has never had much of a shot at regular playing time in the big leagues.
Reed’s .224/.329/.469 line in Triple-A this season has been underwhelming, but he has a lifetime .260/.351/.517 with 89 home runs in 1617 plate appearances at that level. Reed’s strikeout rate has jumped 23.7 percent in 2018 to 29.8 percent in 2019, but he’s still walking at the same strong 12 percent clip he’s managed in each of his three prior seasons in Triple-A.
The White Sox have Jose Abreu entrenched at first base, but he’s a free agent at season’s end. The South Siders also recently released Yonder Alonso, freeing up significant time at both first base and designated hitter. Reed is in his final option season, so he’ll need to make next year’s Opening Day roster or else be exposed to waivers once again. There’s little reason for the Sox not to give Reed a look, however. given his recent prospect pedigree and the potential long-term opening at first/DH. Even if the organization ultimately extends or re-signs Abreu, Reed could be given an opportunity to establish himself in an arrangement similar to the previous timeshare between Abreu and Alonso.
Meh.
@Orbit
Can’t argue that.
Too many Ks for me to get excited but worth a try.
Depth
Agreed the next real 1st baseman prospect is Gavin Sheets right. Maybe it’s a way to keep from forcing him up too soon.
Wow I remember the hype for this guy he was unreal in the minors
Not in AAA
Tigers should have claimed him… they have been bouncing Goodrum, Dixon and Hicks as 1B since Miggy was moved to permanent DH. Their offense is terrible and anything would be better than what they have.
clearly you have never seen him play in the majors.
Dixon is well better then Reed
Dixon can play against lefties at first. He can fill in at second third and corner OF. It would be worth a shot to see if he can produce with regular AB’s. Tigers have zero 1B prospects.
Everyone saw him as a Chris Davis type.. too bad he never lived up to it. Maybe he’ll figure it out with the Sox
He is exactly a Chris Davis type only problem is he’s the Chris Davis today and not 5 years ago
He did evolve into a Chris Davis type, that’s the problem
Abreu is going to be traded
No…..
@king beas
Why would you say that? Abreu’s much more likely going to get extended than get traded.
The things people read into meaningless transactions.
Because they signed this guy.
I don’t like it but give Abreu chance to win WS.
Sox can resign Abreu over the winter.
He’s not a ring chaser. He wants to be a lifer and win one here. A trade is not going to happen, and this waiver claim has absolutely ZERO to do with Abreu.
Trade him for prospects.
Abreu wins WS.
Sign him over the winter. What’s wrong with that?!
1. Abreu doesn’t want to be traded.
2. They aren’t going to get anything worthwhile for him.
@ChiSox_Fan
No. The only way I’d trade Abreu is for a blue-chip prospect, and there’s no way he will fetch a blue-chip prospect. That ship sailed a couple years ago. If Hahn were going to trade him, he should’ve done it when he traded Sale and Eaton. All you will get for him now is a mid-level prospect that the Sox probably won’t have any use for.
Plus, if you’re trying to sign him for ’20 and beyond, trading him probably won’t be your best negotiating ploy. You know, “We want to keep to keep you, Abreu, but we’re going to send you to another team for the rest of the year.”
Abreu’s almost begging the Sox for an extension and I’m sure Hahn wants to keep him. Why would you risk sending him to another team and have that team extend him? It might not happen, but why even risk it for a prospect who will probably never be relevant?
Abreu will be a lifelong White Sox player. They look at him as the new Minnie Minoso.
I’m willing to put 5 bucks on the contrary
Maybe being released by the Astros will wake him up. Nice kid with a lot of potential.
The tried and true ‘AJ’ card. Wonder if there are any Jermaines in the pack.
Sometimes prospects suck…..
Most of the time, actually.
Solid landing spot for Reed. Legitimate chance to see everyday ABs on an up and coming team. Certainly worth a shot for the WSox.
Bye Palka
He is already gone
Could be a perfect pairing. Could also be a waste of everyone’s time. But it’s not like the White Sox have anything else to do for the next year or two.
@hiflew
Or just this year. Getting a couple blue chip prospects coming up early next year and a few blue chip prospects currently in Chicago getting much needed experience in a very weak division, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the playoffs next year. If not next year, I can definitely see them playoff bound in 2021.
They might be WC contenders next year, but do you really see them as better than the Twins next year? I agree, 2021 could be the start of an interesting few years for the ChiSox, but I just don’t see much for them in 19 or 20.
Do you really think the Twins are as good as they’ve been this year? They won 78 last year and 85 the year before (and 59 in 2016). They had a ridiculous May, but they have played just slightly better than .500 ball since then, and they are 9-11 in their last 20.
Add a competent starter or two next year (plus Madrigal/Robert replacing the offensive black holes they have at 2B and the OF), and I absolutely think they could compete with the Twins and Cleveland.
@hiflew
It depends a lot on how Cease and Kopech pitch next year, but for now, not knowing what moves will be made the rest of July and over the Winter, Minny will definitely be the favorites in ’20.
Never know, change of scenery could be what he needs. It’s definitely a good gamble, he’s still kinda young (26) Sometimes prospects take sometime to live up to their hype. And then again sometimes they never do. Maybe this is his final shot to put it together.
I could care less about this transaction. The one that excites me is Robert going to AAA by the end of the week.
Smart move. Robert has nothing left to prove in AA. Let’s see what he can do in AAA. I’d do the same with Madrigal. Both guys have been raking at AA.
In fact, if I were GM, my game plan would be this: promote both, if they both struggle or are OK, but not dominating, I’d just do the same thing Hahn did with Eloy last year. Ditto if the Sox are out of the WC race, which is the realistic scenario.
Let’s say for the sake of argument, one or both dominate AAA like they have AA. If the Sox miraculously still have a legit shot at the WC (maybe 3 or 4 out) at the end of August, I’d promote them both by August 31.
The way I look at it, who would you rather have rounding out your 25-man roster in the WC game, if they pulled off the impossible: a red hot Robert and/or Madrigal, or Rondon and Palka? Not a tough one to think about there.
I’m getting way ahead of myself here. Both Robert and Madrigal could slow down in AAA, and/or the Sox could definitely fade in July and August, making everything I said above meaningless. But this is me thinking ahead, being prepared just in case the unthinkable happens.
The short version of my post: the Robert promotion is smart. It would also be smart to promote Madrigal in the next week or two (unless he suddenly goes extremely cold).
I’m surprised to see Robert promoted before Madrigal actually, but I feel the same as you. No reason to not be aggressive with a guy in the last two months of a minor league season who has shown success at his current level. Worst case scenario is he is over matched and starts the next season back in AA, best cast scenario is he continues success and is knocking the door to the majors next season.
I honestly expect Robert to cool off a lot and struggle a bit in AAA. His inflated babip and poor BB/K rate will catch up against more polished pitchers. Let him struggle this year so he can have a plan to fix it this off-season.
Madrigal should continue to be his super weird self. I’d expect his k rate to increase a bit (It’s at 1.9% in AA, that is video game good). But the contact profile will continue as he moves up. He just has to start hitting for a bit more pop because, while he will always be a high average guy, his .400 babip wont stay there and his .392 average can’t be expected to continue. I’d think he will wind up a .330-.350 babip guy so he will be a .310-.330 hitter which is still elite. But his current Slug is inflated by his high average. If his average falls .070 then so does his OBP and Slug and his OPS falls by .140. or more. I’m not saying he has to start hitting 20 bombs, but a 8-10 hr, 25-30 double season should be his goal.
I would happily put money on the over for those power numbers for Madrigal. Elite contact skills and underrated bat speed with juiced baseballs sounds like a recipe for success if he can lift the ball a little more. I’m not concerned about him at all. .
I’m surprised they didn’t promote them both. Madrigal could probably be called up now and at least produce how he did in high A.
I don’t think we’ll gonna see a struggle in AAA, by neither of these guys. The bread and butter is in AA. Tremendous amount of pitching talent , is in AA. And plus the balls are juiced in AAA.
Neither one showed well in the futures game.
It’s only 1 exhibition game but Robert had 3 ABs and chance to win MVP.
0/5 I think for the two of them combined.
Oh no. 5 whole at-bats? The horror.
For real though, that game means absolutely nothing…
Something actually important from that game – I saw a tweet that said Robert’s sprint speed on that ground ball was 31.3 ft/sec. 30.0 is considered elite, and the fastest player in the MLB this year, Tim Locastro, has a 30.5 ft/sec sprint speed. Now that’s over 46 “Competitive Runs,” and I can’t find a leaderboard for fastest single runs, but I’d have to imagine Robert’s time would still be at the very top of any list. The guy flies.
With Robert and Madrigal, I got 7-8 guys here who are at least part cheetah.
Robert 25 HRs in 25 games with juiced AAA baseball.
That’s a prediction not yet fact.
Palka has played his last game in the majors.
@RickHahnForPresident
I think so too. If Palka’s up in Sept, then it means the Sox have been out of the WC race for quite a while.
OK, suddenly I care more about this transaction. I had no idea they were going to promote him immediately. Even after discovering and digesting this news about 1/2 hour ago, I am still in stunned disbelief. Well, let’s hope Hahn is right, that’s about all we can do at this point.
I said this in the other article, I have a feeling this upcoming 10-game road trip will effectively kill the Sox already slim chances at the WC (and, again, I would love to be proven wrong). So, why not? He might surprise like McCann has so far. And if he’s that bad, it will be very easy to cut him.
I have two concerns about dumping him this early. His only significant time in Houston was 3 years ago at age 23. He wasn’t given much of a chance. But I see his recent struggles in Round Rock and Seth Beer coming up, and I am not sure he has a place as a hitter in Houston.
But he pitched at Kentucky. Did he pitch at all in the minors? Unless there are some glaring issues with his pitching, I bet the White Sox let him pitch.
After the last few Luhnow moves, I am willing to be he makes it in the big leagues. I mean, Charlie Morton wants to stay in Houston, and Luhnow gives him the middle finger, saying I can win with Martin, Armenteros, Uquidry, McHugh. And he knew McCullers was out. You are a WS contender and you set up your program to rely on unproven talent? I threw up my hands when he let Morton go out the door.
Now Luhnow has to again risk giving away talent (Hader, Laureano, JD Davis) for a case of Bud Light because he wasn’t that impressed with Morton.
There is one other fact that glares at me. Per the rules of the waiver picks, the player’s league team with the worst record gets the first chance. Baltimore is staffed with Elias and a couple of other techies. Outside of Houston, I am not sure anyone knows more about AJ Reed than Baltimore….and they are declining to take him.
It was my understanding that Morton wanted to move East to be closer to his wife’s family.
I posted the following comment(s) last week when AJ Reed was first DFA’d by the Astros:
As a White Sox fan I had been intrigued with A.J. Reed’s potential, enough so that I was hoping he might be included as part of a prospect package for Chris Sale or Jose Quintana when trade talks were discussed with the Astros at the onset of their rebuild in 2016. A deal never materialized and now the White Sox have an opportunity to work something out with a trade or waiver claim while he is in DFA limbo.
Reed was not only a highly touted left-handed power bat coming out of the University of Kentucky but also a decent starting southpaw pitcher as well. If he can’t regain his promise with the bat perhaps he might consider a return to the mound. I’d like to see the White Sox take a flyer on Reed. The cost would be minimal and the organization does have a need for a lefty power bat and arm in their system.
Bottom line: The White Sox have nothing to lose by taking a flyer on Reed. He is 26-years old. I’d take the 26-30 year old version of Chris Davis in a heartbeat to be my left-handed hitting DH/backup 1B and “blowout” relief pitcher while he also hits between 1B Andrew Vaughn and LF Eloy Jimenez in a future White Sox batting order.
CF Luis Robert, 2B Nick Madrigal and 3B Yoan Moncada can set the table while SS Tim Anderson provides dessert in the bottom half along with our future catcher (hopefully James McCann with an extension) and right fielder.
The worst thing that can happen is Reed struggles at AAA Charlotte for the next month or two and is released. It’s not as if he is blocking any elite 1B prospect in AAA. 1B Gavin Sheets has finally found his power stroke in the past month or two at AA Birmingham after a slow start in the White Sox system. If Reed bombs in a good way he could see a promotion to the South Side later this summer and put his hat into the ring as the lefty power bat the White Sox seem to be lacking now and into the future. If Reed bombs in a bad way then Sheets could be the next man up for that role in 2020.
Btw: In addition to McCann, I would also like to see Jose Abreu signed to a contract extension this offseason. Abreu is a pending FA while McCann has one more year of arbitration eligibility in 2020.
@Aaron Sapoznik
I’m not crazy about the guy, but absolutely, you’re right. The worst case scenario is he’s a dud in AAA. The Sox only other option in AAA right now is Skole. Vaughn is at least a year away from AAA. I’m definitely not upset the Sox got him, I just don’t have high hopes for him. And I would love to be proven wrong on him…that would be the best case scenario.
The only problem I have with this is that I want to see Gavin Sheets in AAA. If AJ can hit well enough to make it up to the bigs, that’ll be a non-issue. Sheets has been absolutely raking in AA lately, and I expect him to show even more power with the juiced AAA baseballs.
He has a 25 game on-base streak with a .948 OPS, and he’s been on in 34 of his last 35 with a .964 OPS. That comes with his normal low K% and solid BB% – 22 K’s and 13 BB’s (plus 2 HBP) in 148 plate appearances. That’s VERY impressive in Birmingham.
I would really like to see Abreu traded for a nice return. Maybe keep this guy at first for the remainder of the season and try Eloy at first. He’s just too big of a guy to play the outfield. That’s my opinion idk what the Sox have in mind
I’m actually surprised they haven’t started Collins at 1st yet.
Well they’ve faced about 19 left handers in their last 20 games, so it’s not that surprising. They picked a pretty awful time to bring him up, and they stupidly doubled down with another lefty (Palka) for this stretch. That spot should’ve been (should still be) Yermin’s. Having 3 catchers is perfectly fine if one is going to be DH’ing every game, which I’d bet is the plan when Wellington comes back anyways.
Welington needs to be shipped out.
Not sure how this fits. White Sox are speed, hits and some good eyes now and coming up. What is this? Slow, power and under-performing contact.
He’s still relatively young and has some upside. If he flames out in AAA, they won’t miss a beat. If he starts to hit again, they may have a cheap DH/1B power bat. This is a no lose situation for them.
Reed looked pretty promising in AAA a couple of years ago. Still has a lot of power, but his batting average has steadily dropped as well as his strikeouts steadily increased. As an Astros fan, I wish him well with the White Sox. Maybe he can turn around his career. Stros have Taylor Jones in AAA and Seth Beer in AA, both 1st basemen, and both raking. And Yuli Gurriel red hot in the majors. No room for Reed.
Would rather see Yermin Mercedes get a shot later this year at DH. More dangerous hitter than 3 outcome guys like Reed and Collins, especially when pitchers realize there is no need to pitch around guys who struggle to make contact.
AJ Reed had a meteoric rise through the minors! He looked like a high average, high slugging 1B prospect. When they gave him a shot in MLB, he got shell shocked and never recovered. I think he just needs a change of scenery and he becomes the next JD Martinez.
Yes please
Losing Yonder Alonso and picking up AJ Reed?!? Not a good transaction. I have to think if Alonso was on the waiver wire and they owned Reed they would have dropped Reed for Alonso.
Pick up a guy hitting under 200 owed about 4 million?
Um no. Every single team took a hard pass on Alonso.