White Sox trade Welington Castillo; Josh Osich also moving on

Welington Castillo

Even when the White Sox trade a hated and despised player, they do it in a strange way that invites criticism.

Take for this example this week's deal with Texas. The Sox sent catcher Welington Castillo and $250,000 in international bonus pool money to the Rangers in exchange for minor leaguer Jonah McReynolds.

What's interesting here is that neither the Sox nor the Rangers had any intent of having Castillo on their 2020 roster. There's an $8 million option on his contract, and who is going to pick that up for an injury-prone catcher coming off a season in which he batted .209?

Nobody.

The option includes a $500,000 buyout. The Sox apparently didn't want to pay that, even though they've got a bottom-third payroll, so they passed that financial obligation along to the Rangers. Why would Texas do that? The Rangers want that international bonus money, plain and simple.

There's precedence for this. You may recall that the Sox traded Nate Jones to Texas at the July trading deadline. Jones will never throw a pitch for the Rangers, who will pay his $1.25 million contract buyout this offseason. In that deal, Texas acquired $1 million in international bonus pool money.

Simplifying all this, essentially the Sox gave Texas $1.25 million in international bonus pool money in order to avoid paying $1.75 million in buyouts to two dead-weight veterans, Jones and Castillo.

Why would the Sox be eager to unload valuable international bonus pool money during a rebuilding cycle, and during a time when their minor league depth has been depleted by injuries? I have no idea. No idea at all.

I'm left to chalk this up to the usual Sox cheapness. Somehow I doubt that $1.75 million is going to make a difference one way or another in signing free agents this offseason.

Osich claimed on waivers by Red Sox

In other Sox news, left-handed reliever Josh Osich was outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte and later claimed on waivers by the Boston Red Sox.

Osich went 4-0 with a 4.66 ERA in 57 games for the Sox this season, and somehow, he led the bullpen with 67.2 innings pitched. He had the fewest walks (15) of any Sox reliever, but he also allowed the most home runs (15).

Right-handed batters torched Osich with a .297/.344/.559 split this season. He was effective against lefties, however, limiting them to a .171/.200/.351 split.

It would seem as though Osich would have some utility as a left-handed specialist, but remember, there's a new rule coming in next season that requires relievers to face a minimum of three batters.

Pitchers such as Osich will run the risk of being overexposed to right-handed batters in this new era, and let's face it, he's not good enough to be considered irreplaceable.