The White Sox made a trio of acquisitions over the past week, bolstering their roster for 2019. Things started on Tuesday, when a trade with the Pirates netted the Sox right hander Ivan Nova in exchange for minor leaguer Yordi Rosario and international bonus money. Yesterday, it was reported that the White Sox came to an agreement with free agent catcher James McCann. Finally, the White Sox announced earlier this morning that they had acquired first baseman Yonder Alonso from the Indians for minor league outfielder Alex Call.
Nova, signed through 2019, basically steps in to the James Shields role as innings eater and mentor, though he should offer better results on the mound. Over the past 3 years, Nova surpasses Shields in games, innings pitched, HR allowed, ERA, and FIP. While he has given up more hits, that should be more than offset by a drastic reduction in walks. Rosario is a lottery ticket at this point and, due to the Luis Robert signing, the White Sox couldn’t use the bonus money anyway, so the cost to get Nova was minimal.
With Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith off to other organizations and Seby Zavala and Zack Collins still a year or so away, the White Sox needed a catcher to team with Welington Castillo for 2019. McCann will fill that role, though he rates as sub-par both offensively and defensively. His main pluses are the occasional home run and a strong arm to control the running game.
The trade for Alonso, at first glance, is a bit of a head scratcher. Assuming there is nothing in the works on the Jose Abreu front, the two will split time between first base and designated hitter. Another reported use is recruiting, as Alonso’s brother-in-law just happens to be Manny Machado, one of the two biggest fish in the free agency pond. Who knows if it will help, but the White Sox reportedly have a meeting set with Machado for next week. If that doesn’t pay off, then the move basically helps a division rival clear salary space in exchange for someone who isn’t likely to be a long term part of the rebuilding process.
To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball. With the winter meetings starting today, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the New York Yankees.
