MLBTR pieces together the parts of a three team trade involving the White Sox.
The White Sox received CF Adam Eaton from the Diamondbacks. Formerly one of baseball's top prospects, the 25-year-old
Eaton missed more than half of the 2013 season after opening the year on
the DL with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his left (throwing)
elbow. In 380 career MLB plate apparances, Eaton is a .254/.332/.373 hitter
with five homers and seven stolen bases. He's batted .365/.441/.522 with
eight homers and 38 steals in 602 career appearances at the Triple-A
level. Prior to the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Eaton as
Arizona's No. 4 prospect, noting that he'd made enough defensive strides
to convince scouts that he is an everyday big league center fielder
with double-digit home run pop, plus speed and a strong, accurate
throwing arm. He is under team control through the 2018
season.
The White Sox gave up LH starting pitcher Hector Santiago, who will join the Angels. Santiago, who turns 26 next week, has a career 3.41 ERA with 8.7 K/9,
4.5 BB/9 and a 37.5 percent ground-ball rate in 224 2/3 big league
innings. He's not arbitration eligible until next winter and can be
controlled through the 2017 campaign
The Diamondbacks will receive outfielder Mark Trumbo and right-hander A.J. Schugel from the Angels. Arizona
will be looking for Trumbo's power to outweigh his shaky defense; he's
belted 66 home runs over the past two seasons, posting a .250/.305/.471
batting line. While Trumbo's walk rate climbed to a career-best eight percent
in 2013, that's still below the league average, and it came along with a
career-worst 27.1 percent strikeout rate. Trumbo hit 34 homers last season.
Trumbo projects to earn $4.7MM via arbitration this offseason and can be
controlled through the 2016 season.
Schugel dealt with blisters early
in the season and saw a foot injury cut his season short in July after
he posted a 7.05 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 89 1/3 innings at
Triple-A Salt Lake. However, he posted a 2.89 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.5
BB/9 in 140 innings at Double-A when he was healthy in 2012. Baseball America ranked Schugel 12th among Angels prospects prior to
2013, noting that a strong fastball/changeup combo should allow him to
become a back-of-the-rotation starter despite a questionable breaking
pitch. BA also noted that Schugel is an excellent athlete that fields
his position well.
The Angels will also receive LH pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs appeared in the Top 15 of BA's Top 100 list prior to the 2012
and 2013 seasons but has struggled in his brief big league experience to
date. Still just 22, Skaggs has a 5.43 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a
40 percent ground-ball rate in 68 Major League innings. He has a 4.02
ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 156 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level
-- all of which have come with him being one of the league's youngest
pitchers. Skaggs won't be eligible for arbitration until at least 2016
and can be controlled through the 2019 campaign if he's in the Majors
from here on out.
Eaton has only played 88 games in two seasons. He has a .254 BA, 5 HR, 27 RBI and 0.7 WAR. In contrast, Santiago has played in 78 games, posted an 8-10 record, 3.41 ERA, 1.358 WHIP and 4.6 WAR. The White Sox are trading a replacement level player with "potential" for a young starting left handed pitcher. I don't it was a very good deal for the White Sox considering their are other center fielders on the market such as Denard Span, 29, who has a career 15.0 WAR over 6 seasons. Span is a more expensive alternative, but he has lead off potential with the ability to steal bases.
