Full deal details, finally: White Sox look toward the future
Three prominent prospects come from the Dodgers in exchange for a 4.6 WAR starter, reliever lost in the wilderness, and fantasy football player Tommy Pham
Confirmation has come from the White Sox, in the form of tweets and press releases. Here’s our copyedited version of the latter:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, July 29, 2024
WHITE SOX ACQUIRE MIGUEL VARGAS AND TWO MINOR LEAGUERS FROM LOS ANGELES DODGERS; SEND ERICK FEDDE AND TOMMY PHAM TO ST. LOUIS AND MICHAEL KOPECH TO DODGERS AS PART OF THREE-TEAM TRADE
CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals have completed a three-team trade:
White Sox Acquire from Los Angeles-NL (3); INFs Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus, Jeral Perez and a Player to be Named Later or cash considerations;
White Sox Trade to St. Louis (2): RHP Erick Fedde, OF Tommy Pham and cash considerations;
White Sox Trade to Dodgers (1); RHP Michael Kopech;
Dodgers Acquire from St. Louis (2): INF Tommy Edman and RHP Oliver Gonzalez;
Dodgers send Player to be Named Later or Cash Considerations to St. Louis.
Vargas, 24, will be added to the White Sox 26-player roster after hitting .239/.313/.423 with four doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs, 11 runs and eight walks in 30 games with the Dodgers this season. The 6´2´´, 205-pound Vargas also has appeared in 41 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City, hitting .290/.440/.566 with 14 doubles, eight homers, 38 RBIs, 38 walks and a 1.006 OPS.
Vargas, a native of La Habana Cuba, made his first career Opening Day roster with the Dodgers in 2023 and appeared in 81 games. He was named the 2022 Triple-A Player of the Year and Dodgers Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America after slashing .304/.404/.511 (133-438) with 17 home runs, 82 RBIs and a .915 OPS in 113 games. He also was selected as the Top Prospect in the Pacific Coast League and played in the 2022 All-Star Futures Game.
Vargas is a career .201/.294/.364 hitter with 20 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs, 40 RBIs, 51 runs and 48 walks in 129 games over three seasons with the Dodgers (2022-24). He originally was signed as an international free agent on Sept. 7, 2017.
Albertus, 19, is hitting .298/.420/.409 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 42 RBIs over 51 games this season between the Arizona Complex League Dodgers and Class A Rancho Cucamonga. Albertus, 6´1´´ and 175 pounds, is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 16 prospect in the Dodgers system (No. 23 by MLB.com). He was named ACL Player of the Week for the period of June 3-9.
A native of Oranjestad, Aruba, Albertus is a career .303/.449/.415 hitter with 19 doubles, eight home runs, 91 RBIs, 107 walks and an .864 OPS in 136 games over three seasons (2022-24) in the Los Angeles system. He originally was signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent on June 1, 2022.
Perez, 19, is batting .264/.380/.420 with 15 doubles, 10 home runs, 42 RBIs, 49 runs and 48 walks over 75 games with Rancho Cucamonga. He currently ranks among the California League leaders in homers (T7th), OPS (9th, .800), walks (T9th) and on-base percentage (10th).
Perez, 6´ and 185 pounds, is rated by MLB.com as the No. 17 prospect in the Dodgers organization. He was an All-Star Futures Game selection this season and was named CL Player of the Week for the period of April 15-21. Perez has spent three seasons (2022-24) in the Dodgers minor-league system, slashing .265/.381/.461 with 37 doubles, three triples, 113 RBIs, 122 runs and 18 stolen bases over 182 games. A native of La Romana, Dominican Republic, he originally was signed by Los Angeles as an international free agent on Jan. 15, 2022.
Albertus and Perez both will be assigned to Low-A Kannapolis.
Fedde, 31, is 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA and 108 strikeouts over 21 starts this season, his first with the White Sox after being signed as a free agent on Dec. 12, 2023.
Kopech, 28, has gone 2-8 with a 4.74 ERA, 59 strikeouts and nine saves over 43 relief appearances this season, his fifth with the White Sox.
Pham, 36, is hitting .266/.330/.380 with 14 doubles, five home runs, 19 RBIs and 33 runs in 70 games with the White Sox this season. He was signed by the Sox as a minor-league free agent on April 16.
A lot to unpack, but first let’s set positioning. Vargas, who as outlined above reports to the. major league club and likely starts against the Royals tomorrow night or Wednesday, has played most of his Dodgers career in left field. That said, he is a primary third baseman, having played 325 of his 648 career pro games there. His secondary spot has been second base. Whether his position change came as a result of L.A.’s deficiency in the outfield or because Vargas cannot handle second or third base in the majors, is uncertain.
Albertus and Perez, as is often the case in rookie ball, have shuffled infield positions significantly, so don’t write anything here in permanent ink. Albertus is a primary third baseman (67 games), with significant time at short (28) and second (27). Perez is the same age as Albertus but has made a quicker and better climb up the Dodgers’ system in his short career, and has seen his primary time at second base (95 games) vs. shortstop (37) and third base (34).
Perez and Albertus both were promoted to Low-A in-season in 2024, so perhaps regard them along the lines of Kannapolis shortstop Ryan Burrowes. Perez made it to Low-A first and has MASHED the ball at every level — including Low-A, where he is 2.1 years younger than his peers. Albertus has just 19 games at Low-A and so far has seen the very strong offense that’s been a hallmark of his pro career stymied.
St. Louis is getting cash considerations from the White Sox presumably to pay some or all of the salary remaining on Pham’s $3 million deal. It seems fairly clear the White Sox got nothing out of having picked Pham up late this spring and “selling him off” at the deadline.