The White Sox resolved their logjam of starting pitchers by dealing one on Tuesday.
The Sox sent Hector Santiago and a player-to-be-named (probably Brandon Jacobs) as part of a three-team trade with the Diamondbacks and Angels, receiving Adam Eaton.
The 25-year-old left-handed outfielder has been highly touted coming through Arizona's farm system since being drafted in the 19th round of the 2010 draft. After a successful cup of coffee with the D'Backs in 2012 in which he hit .259/.382/.412 over 103 plate appearances, last season was derailed for Eaton when a torn UCL in his throwing arm sidelined him July. He ended up batting .252/.314/.360.
Eaton probably owes his low draft position to his modest stature (he is only 5-foot-8), but the results speak for themselves: In 1,560 minor-league plate appearances Eaton has slashed a .348/.450/.501 line, and has mostly answered questions about his ability to stick in centerfield.
That batting average isn't likely to carry over to the American League, but Eaton still has the offensive tools to be a very good leadoff hitter.
This is a big get for a White Sox team that probably wasn't going to stretch Avisail Garcia in center, and has apparently moved on from the idea of Alejandro De Aza playing there regularly. The Sox are now set to deal either De Aza, or incumbent left fielder Dayan Viciedo. If they don't like the offers for either player, De Aza probably becomes a fourth outfielder and Viciedo likely loses playing time against right-handed pitchers, against whom he's only managed to hit .242/.287/.388 so far in his big league career (vs. .322/.357/.551 against lefties).
As far as the players the Sox gave up, Santiago was a fun player to watch, and a fun player to root for, but despite the huge strikeout numbers (8.7 K/9), he still hasn't managed to get his walks under control (4.5 BB/9), and is too often victimized by home runs (17 allowed last year in 149 innings).
Santiago was not likely to repeat his 3.56 ERA from last year with those factors working against him. It's also an open question if he can handle a starter's workload as last year he wore down noticibly as the season progressed, partially evidenced by his declining K rate each month from May on (10.0 in May, 9.9 in June, 9.5 in July, 6.7 in August and 4.7 in September).
That's not to say Santiago can't improve, the same way Quintana did in a second season spent primarily as a starter. But Santiago was still the rotation's weakest link, making him the most expendable piece the Sox could give up in trade.
Jacobs, an outfielder that came over from the Red Sox in the Matt Thornton trade, only batted .237/.291/.327 at Charlotte after his arrival. The 23-year-old will be eligible to be taken in this week's Rule V draft, though probably won't be selected.
I like the move. I am ready to move on from De Aza as the everyday CF. De Aza is a respectable hitter, but he's a poor defensive outfielder, and his horrendous baserunning gaffes cost the Sox repeatedly last season. I'm cool with him as a fourth outfielder, but not as the starting CF.
ReplyDeleteEaton is 25, bats left and has good upside. He could be the answer in CF over the next four or five years. I'm more than willing to give up a back-end starter such as Santiago to acquire a player such as Eaton.
I like Santiago's arm, but it's hard to envision him pitching much better than he did last season. He walks too many guys, and even when he's not walking people, he just doesn't possess the command to be efficient with his pitches. There were too many outings where he didn't make it through the sixth inning for my taste. He has swing-and-miss stuff, which is nice, but I just look at his contributions as replaceable.
I'll always take a starting CF and leadoff hitter over a No. 4 starter.
That's pretty spot-on as far as Santiago goes. His walks and HRs allowed mean he's not well-suited to high-leverage work as a reliever, and it also keeps him from working deep into games as a starter.
DeleteI love the arm, and he could always find a way to improve his command, but it's hard to gamble on that happening in a park like U.S. Cellular Field where his weaknesses are exacerbated.
This maybe isn't the peak of Santiago's value given his tools, but it's a better gamble than hoping he doesn't turn in a disaster season next year and is banished to the back end of bullpens for the rest of his career.