The big news in Major League Baseball on Tuesday night was the seven-player trade involving the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. The headline would be the Yankees getting three players who should greatly help their big-league club at the moment, while the White Sox continue to stockpile prospects for the long-term future and a potential run at the American League Central crown in 2019 and beyond.
The Sox traded Todd Frazier, closer David Robertson and setup man Tommy Kahnle to the Yankees on Tuesday for outfield prospect Blake Rutherford, left-handed pitching prospect Ian Clarkin, right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard and outfield prospect Tito Polo.
It was the second big deal in six days after the Sox sent left-hander Jose Quintana to the Cubs for four prospects Thursday. That trade drove up the number of Sox prospects in Baseball America’s midseason top 100 to seven, and Rutherford will be their eighth.
Defensively, Rutherford has played in right field for most of the season but he’s going to profile in a corner as he grows into his fairly projectable frame. He flashes pretty much average in terms of speed, arm, and glove, which will make him a more than workable option there. That’s not to say he can’t play center in a pickle, but he just doesn’t have the plus athleticism to be more than a fringe option.
However, what’s really going to define whether Rutherford is simply a solid regular or something more will be the development of his power stroke. At the moment, Rutherford is a little skinny at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, which is to be expected for a tall and lean high school draft pick in his first year of full-season ball. He should be able to add a bit of muscle to his upper body, which will help his raw power get to plus at maturity. But when watching Rutherford, it’s clear that he’d rather play to a more gap-driven approach than pull the pitches he needs to fully translate his raw potential into game situations. I actually think this will benefit him as his swing plays more to contact than power, which is something that he probably recognizes when just watching him work the zone at 20.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHNliO-7NGs]While he has been sidelined with injuries, including various elbow and forearm strains, Clarkin still has some stuff to like. His fastball, while not plus anymore, is 89-91 and is a tough pitch to square up when located down in the zone. His command this year has been better than in the past, but still needs some projection to stick as a starter. The main attraction with Clarkin is his plus curve which comes in from 73-76 with quality depth and sharp break. He has confidence in it and uses it as his put-away pitch versus righties and lefties. With his changeup projecting to a below-average offering, Clarkin looks more and more like a seventh-inning bullpen arm, but has the floor of a situational lefty.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3hvdUEXQ3E]Polo’s best attributes are his plus speed and his knack for making contact. His aggression and lack of pitch recognition are causes for concern, but he’s made it work thus far. He has quick hands and above-average bat speed to help make up for those deficiencies, and looks like an average hitter. The rest of Polo’s game is below average, as he doesn’t offer much in-game power and has a poor arm. While he can play center field in a pinch, he is a left fielder who won’t be known for a good FRAA. Polo looks the part of a fourth outfielder who can start for periods at a time.
Clippard doesn’t exactly scream valuable trade asset, and at first blush it seems odd that he was even included in the deal. For the Yankees it appears to be yet another attempt at managing money to stay under the luxury tax threshold, but he has some value to the White Sox as well. Clippard certainly hasn’t been lighting the world on fire with his 4.95 ERA, 4.87 DRA, and 12 percent walk rate, but with Jose Quintana’s recent departure from the rotation and two key relievers heading to New York, the White Sox are left with a lot of outs to record on a daily basis. Thirty innings from Clippard may not be pretty, but it could be just enough to prevent the team from pushing prospects into the bullpen before they’re ready. It’s also possible that the White Sox could get something in return for Clippard from a contender convinced he can help down the stretch.
White Sox fans will catch a glimpse of the future immediately, though. After the trade, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn announced that top prospect Yoan Moncada would join the big-league club on Wednesday. After waiting patiently all season at Triple-A, Moncada gets the call to Chicago thanks to the vacancy created by Frazier. The 22-year-old super prospect was hitting .282/.377/.447 in Charlotte, with 12 home runs and 17 steals in 361 plate appearances
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