Tag / Jaime Navarro

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Crossing Sides Of Town

So far in 2025, Brad Keller, Mike Tauchman, Nicky Lopez, and Reese McGuire pushed the total of players I’ve seen take the field in person for both the Cubs and the White Sox to 47.  With the final round of crosstown kicking off tonight at Rate Field, here’s a look at those players, in alphabetical order.

David Aardsma

After posting a decent season with the Cubs in 2006, Aardsma was traded to the White Sox for Neal Cotts.  Aardsma lasted one season with the Sox, where he was unable to duplicate his success from the year before.

Jason Bere

Drafted by the White Sox in the 36th round in 1990, Bere debuted with the big-league club in 1993, finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting.  After an All Star selection in 1994, injuries marred the remainder of his tenure on the South Side, which ended in 1998.  He resurfaced with the Cubs in 2001 and had a decent season, but he went 1-10 in 2002 before being let go.

Emilio Bonifacio

Bonifacio spent back-to-back partial seasons in Chicago, first for the Cubs in 2014 after signing as a free agent, where he played decently enough to be flipped at the trade deadline, along with James Russell, to the Braves for a young catching prospect by the name of Victor Caratini.  He returned to Chicago in 2015, signing with the White Sox, where he he did not do well at all, hitting .167 in 47 games before being released in August.

Welington Castillo

Debuting with the Cubs in 2010, Castillo spent time behind the plate for the Cubs until May of 2015, when, having been replaced in the starting lineup by Miguel Montero, he was flipped to the Mariners.  He returned to Chicago in 2018 after signing with the White Sox as a free agent.  On May 24th of that season, he was suspended 80 games for a violation of the PED policy.  The White Sox then cut bait following the 2019 season, shipping him off to the Rangers.

Neal Cotts

Acquired by the White Sox in the Billy Koch trade, he debuted with the team in 2003.  He was a key contributor in the bullpen during the 2005 championship season and was the only relief pitcher to appear in all 3 rounds of the playoffs that season.  Following the 2006 season, he was traded to the Cubs for David Aardsma, and he spent the next 3 injury filled seasons on the North Side.

Scott Eyre

Joining the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade with the Rangers, he debuted with the big-league team in 1997.  He split the next 4 seasons between the rotation and the bullpen, not to mention between Chicago and Charlotte, before being moved to the Blue Jays following the 2000 ALDS loss to the Mariners.  He joined the Cubs as a free agent for the 2006 season and enjoyed 2 seasons of relative success, before falling apart in 2008, when he was traded to the Phillies.

Clint Frazier

After missing the second half of 2021 with an injury, Frazier was DFA’d by the Yankees.  He signed a deal with the Cubs that offseason, though he notched just 45 plate appearances before being DFA’s once again.  He chose to finish the year in the Cubs system before becoming a free agent following the season.  After failing to catch on with the Rangers, he signed a minor league deal with the White Sox, eventually hitting .197 in 33 games with the big-league club.

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Throwback Thursday – Pitching Leaders Of The 1990s

Our Throwback Thursday feature continues, as we once again point the wayback machine back to the 1990s, finally putting our focus on the defensive leaders of that decade.  As a reminder, I’ve identified 32 games that I attended during this time period, when I would have been ages 15 through 24.

Wins

Name Total
Wilson Alvarez 2
Alex Fernandez 2
28 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Tony Castillo 2
Jaime Navarro 2
James Baldwin 2
26 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Terry Adams 0.00
Wilson Alvarez 0.39
Keith Foulke 1.04
Donn Pall 1.08
Angel Miranda 1.13

Strikeouts

Name Total
Jaime Navarro 17
Jon Lieber 14
Jim Parque 14
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Two Sides Of The Same Town

cws-chiFollowing last week’s trade deadline deals, Ryan Tepera and Craig Kimbrel became the 36th and 37th people I’ve seen play in person for both the Cubs and the White Sox.  With the first round of crosstown kicking off this afternoon at Wrigley, here’s a look at those players, in alphabetical order.

David Aardsma

After posting a decent season with the Cubs in 2006, Aardsma was traded to the White Sox for Neal Cotts.  Aardsma lasted one season with the Sox, where he was unable to duplicate his success from the year before.

Jason Bere

Drafted by the White Sox in the 36th round in 1990, Bere debuted with the big league club in 1993, finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting.  After an All Star selection in 1994, injuries marred the remainder of his tenure on the South Side, which ended in 1998.  He resurfaced with the Cubs in 2001 and had a decent season, but he went 1-10 in 2002 before being let go.

Emilio Bonifacio

Bonifacio spent back-to-back partial seasons in Chicago, first for the Cubs in 2014 after signing as a free agent, where he played decently enough to be flipped at the trade deadline, along with James Russell, to the Braves for a young catching prospect by the name of Victor Caratini.  He returned to Chicago in 2015, signing with the White Sox, where he he did not do well at all, hitting .167 in 47 games before being released in August.

Welington Castillo

Debuting with the Cubs in 2010, Castillo spent time behind the plate for the Cubs until May of 2015, when, having been replaced in the starting lineup by Miguel Montero, he was flipped to the Mariners.  He returned to Chicago in 2018 after signing with the White Sox as a free agent.  On May 24th of that season, he was suspended 80 games for a violation of the PED policy.  The White Sox then cut bait following the 2019 season, shipping him off to the Rangers.

Neal Cotts

Acquired by the White Sox in the Billy Koch trade, he debuted with the team in 2003.  He was a key contributor in the bullpen during the 2005 championship season, and was the only relief pitcher to appear in all 3 rounds of the playoffs that season.  Following the 2006 season, he was traded to the Cubs for David Aardsma, and he spent the next 3 injury filled seasons on the North Side.

Scott Eyre

Joining the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade with the Rangers, he debuted with the big league team in 1997.  He split the next 4 seasons between the rotation and the bullpen, not to mention between Chicago and Charlotte, before being moved to the Blue Jays following the 2000 ALDS loss to the Mariners.  He joined the Cubs as a free agent for the 2006 season and enjoyed 2 seasons of relative success, before falling apart in 2008, when he was traded to the Phillies.

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#35 – Jose Valentin

Name: Jose Valentin

Rank: 35

Position: SS/3B

Years With White Sox: 2000-2004

Jose Valentin was acquired by the White Sox, along with Cal Eldred, on January 12, 2000 from the Brewers in exchange for Jaime Navarro and John Snyder.  Valentin replaced Mike Caruso at shortstop, and provided an offensive punch that had been missing.  On April 27, against the Orioles, he hit for a natural cycle, becoming just the fifth, and the most recent, White Sox player to hit for the cycle.  While Valentin provided an offensive spark, hitting .273 with 25 home runs and 92 RBI, he was a butcher in the field.  He led the American League with 36 errors.  Despite this, Valentin helped lead the White Sox to their first division title since 1993.  He hit .300 in the ALDS against the Mariners, where the White Sox were swept out of the playoffs.

To help improve their defense, the White Sox acquired Royce Clayton to play shortstop for 2001, forcing Valentin to move around the field in order to keep his bat in the lineup.  He split most of his time between center field and third base, before moving back to shortstop when Clayton failed to hit at all.  Valentin’s average dropped down to .258, but he set a career high with 28 home runs.  He still managed to place second in the AL with 22 errors, despite only appearing in 124 games.

With Clayton getting another shot in 2002, Valentin shifted back over to third base, which is where he spent the majority of the year.  When Clayton struggled offensively again, Valentin again spent time back at shortstop, starting 47 games.  He ended the year with a .249 average and 25 home runs.

After Royce Clayton left as a free agent, Valentin again became the everyday shortstop in 2003.  While he continued to struggle defensively, finishing 3rd in the AL with 20 errors, he started to struggle offensively as well.  Despite tying his career high with 28 home runs, his average dropped to .237, his lowest total as a member of the White Sox.

In 2004, Valentin’s offense continued to slip.  His average dropped to .216, a career low, but he did manage to set a new career high with 30 home runs in only 450 at bats.  Following the season, he became a free agent and his White Sox career drew to a close.

Valentin’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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#78 – Cal Eldred

caleldredName: Cal Eldred

Rank: 78

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2000-2001

Acquired by the White Sox in January of 2000, along with Jose Valentin, from the Brewers for Jaime Navarro and John Snyder, Cal Eldred joined the rotation and immediately put up strong results.  As the White Sox found themselves a surprise contender in the AL Central, Eldred settled in to his spot in the rotation until mid-July, when he suffered a stress fracture in his elbow, the third straight year he had the same injury.  After having surgery to insert a screw to hold the elbow together, he tried to make a late season comeback, but it was not to be.  He finished the year with a 10-2 record, missing the postseason altogether.

Eldred re-signed with the White Sox for 2001 and entered the season as the team’s number 2 starter.  After making two starts, he went on the disabled list with elbow soreness, with general manager Kenny Williams declaring him lost for the season in late June.  He became a free agent at the end of the season, ending his White Sox career.

Eldred’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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Crosstown Competitors

cws-chiLast Saturday, Geovany Soto and Jeff Samardzija became the 25th and 26th people I’ve seen play in person for both the Cubs and the White Sox.  Here’s a look at those players, in alphabetical order.

DavidAardsma2David Aardsma

After posting a decent season with the Cubs in 2006, Aardsma was traded to the White Sox for Neal Cotts.  Aardsma lasted one season with the Sox, where he was unable to duplicate his success from the year before.

Jason Bere

Drafted by the White Sox in the 36th round in 1990, Bere debuted with the big league club in 1993, finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting.  After an All Star selection in 1994, injuries marred the remainder of his tenure on the South Side, which ended in 1998.  He resurfaced with the Cubs in 2001 and had a decent season, but he went 1-10 in 2002 before being let go.

Neal Cotts

Acquired by the White Sox in the Billy Koch trade, he debuted with the team in 2003.  He was a key contributor in the bullpen during the 2005 championship season, and was the only relief pitcher to appear in all 3 rounds of the playoffs that season.  Following the 2006 season, he was traded to the Cubs for David Aardsma, and he spent the next 3 injury filled seasons on the North Side.

scott_eyre_autographScott Eyre

Joining the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade with the Rangers, he debuted with the big league team in 1997.  He split the next 4 seasons between the rotation and the bullpen, not to mention between Chicago and Charlotte, before being moved to the Blue Jays following the 2000 ALDS loss to the Mariners.  He joined the Cubs as a free agent for the 2006 season and enjoyed 2 seasons of relative success, before falling apart in 2008, when he was traded to the Phillies.

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#486 – Jaime Navarro

Name: Jaime Navarro

Rank: 486

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1997-1999

Following the 1996 season, there were 2 big free agent pitchers available on the open market.  One had decided that Chicago was the place for him.  Intrigued by a lineup that included both Frank Thomas and Albert Belle, Roger Clemens had his agents reach out to Jerry Reinsdorf.  GM Ron Schueler had other ideas, which included Navarro, who was coming off of a 29-18 record in 2 years with the Cubs.  Clemens ultimately ended up in Toronto, where he won back-to-back Cy Young awards in 1997 and 1998.  Navarro went completely off the rails, going 25-43 with a 6.06 earned-run average in his three seasons with the White Sox.  “For me Navarro was just a better value than Roger,” Schueler said.  “There wasn’t as much risk. . . . We talked to our scouts about [Clemens]. They did not recommend him for even a three-year deal. They felt like there is a danger he’s going to have arm problems.”

At the end of the day, Navarro’s most valuable contribution to the White Sox was the trade that sent him out of town.  The Brewers, for reasons that I can not comprehend, sent Cal Eldred and Jose Valentin to the Sox for Navarro in January of 2000.  Of course, those two helped lead the White Sox to the AL Central title later that same year.  Navarro, meanwhile, pitched in 12 more major league games before being sent to the scrap heap.

Navarro’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →