Today in White Sox History: December 16
Two trades, left unfulfilled
1940
In a minor trade, the White Sox shipped Jack Knott to Philadelphia for third baseman Dario Lodigiani. Knott was approaching his later 30s but was coming off of two strong, two-plus WAR seasons, while Lodigiani, about a decade younger, was just getting his career started.
No one ended up very pleased with how the story turned out, however. Knott was decent in 1941, but fell off the face of the Earth in 1942, dropping to -2.4 WAR and a 69 ERA+; Lodigiani put up a mere 1.0 WAR, spread out over two seasons. Both players enlisted in World War II and missed the 1943-45 seasons; both also returned to the majors in 1946, for one final season. Knott was released by the A’s in May, while Lodigiani played eight more seasons in the minors before calling it quits in 1954, at age 38.
2015
In a three-way swap GM Rick Hahn sent second baseman Micah Johnson, pitcher Frankie Montas and outfielder Trayce Thompson to the Dodgers and got back third baseman Todd Frazier from the Cincinnati Reds (Cincy sent three prospects to L.A., as well).
Frazier hit 40 home runs in his lone full season on the South Side, then during 2017 was sent to the Yankees in a package deal for unfulfilled prospects. Meanwhile, Montas blossomed as a starter with the Oakland A’s, Thompson ended up having a late-bloom 1.9 WAR partial season with San Diego in 2022, and Johnson became an acclaimed multimedia artist.