- White Sox righty Phillippe Aumont has retired, according to an announcement from the club’s Triple-A affiliate. The 27-year-old, once a heralded prospect with the Phillies and Mariners — and a significant piece of the 2009 Cliff Lee trade — had surrendered 15 earned runs in 11 innings on the year, with 14 strikeouts but also 11 walks on his ledger. Aumont last appeared in the majors nearly one year ago, but it doesn’t appear as if he’ll continue trying to make his way back. Over 43 2/3 major league frames, he compiled a 6.80 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 7.0 BB/9.
White Sox Rumors
White Sox Acquire Brett Hayes; Daniel Fields Outrighted
- The White Sox outrighted outfielder Daniel Fields off their 40-man roster over the weekend, and the 25-year-old was released shortly thereafter (presumably upon refusing the assignment, as was his right having been previously outrighted). Fields is a career .281/.359/.423 hitter in in 672 plate appearances at the Double-A level, but he’s struggled to a .223/.312/.345 line in 957 PAs at the Triple-A level. The former sixth-round pick (2009) had spent his entire career in the Tigers organization prior to this season.
- The White Sox also picked up veteran catcher Brett Hayes in a trade that sent cash considerations to the Diamondbacks. The 32-year-old Hayes tallied 32 plate appearances with Cleveland last season and has appeared in parts of each of the past seven Major League seasons, splitting his time between the Marlins, Royals and Indians. He’s a career .205/.250/.359 hitter at the big league level and a .239/.279/.387 hitter in nearly 1200 PAs at the Triple-A level.
Financial Details On James Shields
The latest regarding right-hander James Shields, whom the Padres sent (along with cash) to the White Sox on Saturday for shortstop prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. and righty Erik Johnson:
- Before agreeing to take Tatis and Johnson, the Padres asked the White Sox for their two best prospects, shortstop Tim Anderson and righty Carson Fulmer, per ESPN’s Jim Bowden (Twitter link).
- The White Sox will pay Shields $5MM this year and, if he doesn’t opt out of his contract at season’s end, $10MM in both 2017 and 2018. They’ll also be responsible for a $2MM buyout on his 2019 club option, according to Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (Twitter link).
White Sox Acquire James Shields From Padres
A week after talks between the Padres and White Sox regarding James Shields began gaining “significant momentum,” the two sides have officially reached a deal. The veteran right-hander and cash (reportedly $31MM of the remaining $58MM on his contract) will head to Chicago in exchange for fellow righty Erik Johnson and shortstop prospect Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres general manager A.J. Preller announced.
Since beginning the season with a red-hot 19-8 mark, the White Sox have fallen to 29-26 and have dropped to third place in the AL Central, though they’re only 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Royals. While their starters entered Saturday with the majors’ eighth-lowest ERA (3.61) and seventh-best fWAR (5.7), their pre-Shields rotation was a top-heavy group. Aside from superstar Chris Sale and the underrated Jose Quintana, who has posted ace-like numbers this year, the White Sox haven’t gotten overly impressive production from any of their other starters.
With Shields aboard, the expectation is that either Mat Latos or Miguel Gonzalez will lose his spot in the rotation. Regardless of whether the White Sox demote Latos or Gonzalez, their top four will likely consist of Sale, Quintana, Shields and Carlos Rodon as long as all four are healthy. Whether Shields will stay in that top four beyond 2016 is up in the air, though, as he could opt out of the final two years of his contract at season’s end. That would mean leaving $42MM on the table, however.
Shields, 34, isn’t the pitcher he was during his best years with the Rays and Royals, but he remains a competent innings eater who’s on pace to exceed the 200-inning plateau and surpass the 30-start barrier for the 11th straight season. That aside, Shields does come with red flags. After a dreadful final start with the Padres, Shields’ ERA (4.28) is at its highest since 2010. Further, his strikeout rate – which spiked to a personal-best 9.61 per nine innings last year – has regressed to 7.62 (closer to his 7.84 career average) and the control that he displayed in his earlier days has declined. Shields’ walk rate is at 3.61 per nine innings, which is in line with last year’s 3.6, and his velocity has dipped. To Shields’ credit, he has long been a capable ground-ball generator – at 48 percent this year, there’s no sign he’s slowing down in that area. That should help his cause as he shifts to the hitter-friendly confines of U.S. Cellular Field, but he does have the third-highest home run rate among qualified starters since last season (16.9 percent).
For the Padres, this is undoubtedly a disappointing ending to a short-lived experiment. Shields joined the Friars on a lucrative long-term deal as a free agent in 2015, at which point the club gave up the 13th overall pick in that June’s draft to sign him. With Shields in the fold, the Padres had designs on competing for a playoff spot. They instead finished a disappointing 74-88, though, and have begun this season 22-34. San Diego is now rebuilding, so keeping Shields around wouldn’t have made sense.
The 26-year-old Johnson, who’s the more established player the Padres got for Shields, could figure into their rotation at some point. Johnson has posted a 4.50 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 across 98 major league innings. In a 523 2/3-frame minor league sample size, Johnson’s strikeout rate (7.8) hasn’t looked much different, though he has walked fewer batters (3.1) while working to a terrific 3.23 ERA.
Tatis, meanwhile, signed with the White Sox for $700K as a 16-year-old last summer. The Dominican native is the son of former big leaguer Fernando Tatis, and Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote at the time of his signing that the 6-foot-1, 175-pounder pairs power potential on offense with a good arm on defense. Tatis, therefore, could potentially serve as a third baseman or outfielder in the majors.
Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported May 28 that the two teams were discussing a Shields trade, and he confirmed the return for the Padres today. Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted earlier today that a deal was close. FanRag Sports Jon Heyman then reported that the framework of a deal was agreed upon. Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago had Johnson going to San Diego. Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reported that the trade was done. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the amount of money the White Sox will receive in the trade.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rick Hahn: More Trades To Come For White Sox
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).
White Sox Promote Jason Coats
- The White Sox have signed free agent catcher Janigson Villalobos to a minor league contract, the team announced. Villalobos, 19, is a native of Venezuela.
- The White Sox have announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Jason Coats from Triple-A Charlotte. He’ll take the 25-man roster spot of righty Tommy Kahnle, who was optioned last night; Kahnle himself had briefly taken the spot of corner outfielder Melky Cabrera, who was placed on the family emergency leave list yesterday. The 26-year-old Coats looked like a fringe prospect heading into the 2016 season, but he’s had a breakout year at Charlotte, batting .335/.399/.567 with 22 extra-base hits. He’s starting in left field and batting seventh for the Sox today against the Tigers.
James Shields Trade Talks “Heating Up”
TODAY: Shields trade talks are “heating up,” FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes (Twitter links). The White Sox appear to still be involved, as the Padres have been scouting their prospects. One team (perhaps the White Sox, although that isn’t certain) has made a “compelling offer,” and two other teams are contenders to land Shields as well.
MAY 29: The Padres are fielding calls from plenty of teams for Shields and other players, tweets Heyman. Given the many moving parts, it is perhaps unsurprising to learn that a Shields trade doesn’t appear imminent.
As between the White Sox and Padres, discussions are “fluid,” reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. Whether a deal happens will come down to how much of Shields’ remaining $58MM each team is willing to absorb, per Levine, who adds that Anderson will not be part of this trade (Twitter link).
MAY 28: The White Sox and Padres are discussing a trade involving righty starter James Shields, and those negotiations have “significant momentum,” Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. It’s unclear whether a deal is likely to be completed soon, however. Jon Heyman of MLB Network corroborates Lin’s report that the White Sox and Padres have discussed Shields, but he notes that other teams are also in the mix (Twitter link).
The Padres initially signed Shields prior to the 2015 season as part of their ill-fated bid to build a competitive team. He posted a modestly disappointing 3.91 ERA, 9.6 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 that year. He’s gotten somewhat better results this season, with a 3.06 ERA, although his peripherals (7.8 K/9, 3.2 BB/9) don’t suggest huge improvement.
The broader issue with Shields, perhaps, is his backloaded contract. He’s making $21MM this year and will make $21MM in each of the next two seasons, plus a $2MM buyout or a $16MM option for 2019. (He also can opt out after this season, but it seems unlikely right now that he’ll do so.) Those numbers could make trading for Shields tricky, especially given that he’s already 34, although Lin notes that the Padres would be willing to eat salary. It’s also unclear how Shields’ home-run tendencies might play in U.S. Cellular Field, a relatively homer-happy ballpark.
Nonetheless, Shields has an extremely durable arm and produces relatively consistent results, and he could help most teams, the White Sox included. The Sox have gotten brilliant performances from Chris Sale and Jose Quintana this season, and they’re likely also happy with Carlos Rodon and Mat Latos (although Latos has been shaky recently). Shields could, however, conceivably upgrade the other spot in the White Sox’ rotation, which currently belongs to Miguel Gonzalez.
As for the Padres’ potential return, ESPN’s Keith Law tweets that he recently heard the White Sox would be willing to part with shortstop prospect Tim Anderson in exchange for a mid-rotation starter. (There is, however, no specific indication that Anderson is involved in the Shields talks.) Anderson, the 17th overall pick in the 2013 draft, is batting a solid .314/.342/.408 for Triple-A Charlotte (although with 44 strikeouts against just eight walks) and is generally regarded as one of the White Sox’ best few prospects. He would appear to be a strong return for Shields, although it’s difficult to speculate on how the trade might work without knowing how much of Shields’ contract the Padres end up paying.
Miguel Gonzalez Fitting In With White Sox
- The White Sox were confident right-hander Miguel Gonzalez would help them when they signed him as a free agent shortly before the season, and the move has so far paid off, writes Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com. Gonzalez overcame a below-average strikeout rate to record a 3.49 ERA with the Orioles from 2012-14, but that number rose to an ugly 4.91 last season and the O’s then released him after his velocity dropped in spring training. Gonzalez’s velo is back to its previous level, though, and he gave up a respectable nine earned runs in 22 2/3 May innings. “Every time he pitches, it seems like we have a chance to win that game,” manager Robin Ventura said of Gonzalez. With the Sox in talks to acquire James Shields from the Padres, either Gonzalez or Mat Latos could soon be the odd man out of Chicago’s rotation. Gonzalez and Latos are trending in opposite directions at the moment, so it seems the latter would get a demotion as of now.
White Sox Release Travis Ishikawa
- First baseman/outfielder Travis Ishikawa is on the market again after being released by the White Sox Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweets. He scuffled to a .201/.277/.344 batting line in 175 plate appearances at Triple-A Charlotte. The eight-year MLB veteran, now 32 years of age, owns a lifetime .255/.321/.391 batting line in 1,050 trips to the plate at the major league level.
Hahn: Sox Could Use Left-Handed Bat, Additional Pitching
MAY 23: On the heels of last week’s comments about exploring the trade market early this season, Hahn said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that his team has “had a lot of discussions” as he looks to strengthen the White Sox’ playoff hopes (links to Twitter). “You’re so much better served getting that guy in early June than late July,” said Hahn, adding that his team “could always use additional pitching” and “could probably use another left-handed hitter to balance the lineup.” Hoping to make a trade and actually striking an agreement, however, are two different stories, and Hahn implied that at this point, there appears to be a lack of motivated sellers: “…but unless we can find a dance partner, then nothing will come to fruition.”
It’s not surprising that few clubs are anxious to sell of pieces just yet. As things stand, all but a few teams around the league are within reasonable striking distance of a Wild Card spot, if not a division lead. And, for the few teams that look like they’ll be definitive sellers in two months’ time, there’s some merit to the idea of hanging onto their top chips for the time being, until there’s a greater market of buyers, which could drive up the price or at least present a wider array of young talent from which to choose.
MAY 19: The White Sox are ready to make a significant upgrade this summer if the opportunity presents itself, writes Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. Sox GM Rick Hahn appeared on WSCR’s “Inside the Clubhouse” show earlier this week, Levine notes, and expressed an aggressive approach toward improving his roster. “We are prepared to make a big move today if it presents itself,” said Hahn. “Our timing may not line up with the other 29 clubs just yet. It is a little early in the process. A lot of clubs don’t make those moves until June or July. We are having conversations right now hoping it comes together more quickly than that.” Hahn did acknowledge that it may take another three to four weeks before clubs begin warming to the idea of moving players.
Levine writes that the Sox will be looking to upgrade the fourth and fifth spots in their rotation, behind lefties Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Carlos Rodon. Having already designated John Danks for assignment and having seen Mat Latos struggle to a 7.84 ERA over his four most recent starts, it’s not exactly a surprise to hear the Sox connected to pitching upgrades. While there may be some optimism that Latos can right the ship to some extent, his strong start — 0.74 ERA through his first 24 1/3 innings — was largely fueled by a .167 BABIP, and his continually declining strikeout rate and velocity don’t paint an optimistic picture moving forward.
The Sox have some internal options to cycle through for the time being, including right-handers Miguel Gonzalez, Erik Johnson, Anthony Ranaudo, Chris Beck and Scott Carroll. However, Beck is entirely untested at the big league level, and the others have not enjoyed much in the way of recent success. Last year’s first-round pick, Carson Fulmer, has been a source of hope for some Sox fans, but he got off to a rough start to the season at Double-A Birmingham, and while his ERA has improved of late, Fulmer has also walked 13 batters in his past nine innings (two starts), making it something of a stretch to anticipate that he’d be equipped to step into the Major League rotation anytime soon.
While the back of the rotation is a clear area of current need, Levine suggests that it should at least be considered that the Sox would look to upgrade the back of their bullpen as well, despite a strong performance from the current relief corps. Levine lists James Shields, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman as possible targets, though it’s not entirely clear how much of their inclusion is speculative in nature. The Yankees, after all, haven’t made a habit of selling off veteran pieces in the past and, for all their struggles, are within a reasonable distance of the division lead (7.5 games) and a Wild Card spot (4 games). If anything, I’d imagine they fall firmly into the mix of clubs that’ll be waiting (at least) four weeks or so before making any kind of decision as to their direction on the summer trade market. As for Shields, he’s a difficult trade target to assess; his 3.12 ERA looks impressive, but his secondary stats don’t support that mark, and the $44MM remaining on his contract after this season, if he does not exercise his upcoming opt-out clause, is a lot to stomach for an 34-year-old pitcher that has not looked as sharp in San Diego as he did in Kansas City.
