Tag / Nick Madrigal

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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.

Kosuke Fukudome Continue reading →

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Interleague Batting Leaders

First introduced in 1997, games between teams in the American and National leagues started occurring in the regular season.  In 2002, it expanded between the corresponding division in the opposite league to a rotation between all of the divisions.  In 2023, it expanded again with each team playing every other team regardless of league.  With the Cardinals coming to town to battle the White Sox this week, let’s take a look at the offensive leaders for the 199 interleague games I have attended since the start of interleague play in 1997, including the World Series in both 2005 and 2016:

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 23
Jermaine Dye 12
Jose Abreu 12
Alexei Ramrez 10
Aramis Ramirez 9
Luis Robert 9
Carlos Lee 9

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 89
Alexei Ramirez 67
Jose Abreu 65
A.J. Pierzynski 49
Derrek Lee 49

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 44
Alexei Ramirez 42
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The Cubs Get Their Man

After being linked to nearly all four of the star free agent shortstops this winter, the Cubs nabbed the last one on the table, getting Dansby Swanson on a seven-year, $177 million deal.  The deal is expected to include a full no-trade clause.  Since the Braves had given Swanson a qualifying offer, the Cubs will lose their second-round draft pick and $500,000 in international free agent allocation.

Swanson, who will turn 29 prior to the start of the 2023 season, put together the best offensive season of his career last year.  He will push Nico Hoerner to second base, giving the Cubs a solid defense in the middle of the infield.  It also leaves Nick Madrigal, acquired from the White Sox in 2021, on the outside looking in.

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Moving On

Last July, with an eye towards the postseason, the White Sox acquired Craig Kimbrel from the Cubs for second baseman Nick Madrigal and reliever Codi Heuer.  To put it mildly, it didn’t work out.  Working mostly as a setup man to Liam Hendriks, Kimbril posted a 5.09 ERA in 24 appearances with the White Sox down the stretch and then gave up 2 earned runs in 2 innings against the Astros in the ALDS.

The White Sox picked up Kimbrel’s $16M option for 2022, looking to trade him and recoup some of the capital they spent to acquire him.  Then, the lockout happened.  When spring training camps opened with Kimbrel still on the roster, things looked dire.  But, today, the White Sox announced they have traded Kimbrel to the Dodgers for outfielder A.J. Pollock.

Pollock should fill a hole in right field, though he has very little experience there.  He also brings some needed pop against RHP, with an .802 career OPS against righties.  Best of all, he saves the White Sox $3-6 million, which will likely come in handy come trade deadline.  Kimbrel, hopefully, can regain his form by moving back into the closer role with the Dodgers.

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

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Against The Orioles All Time Leaders – Through 2021

oriolesIn the past, we’ve looked at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. This offseason, we will take our first ever look at those leaders against all 30 clubs. We continue today with the Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles began life in 1901 as the Milwaukee Brewers, one of the charter members of the American League.  They moved to St. Louis the following year, becoming the Browns, before finally arriving in Baltimore in 1954.  I’ve seen them play 35 times in 6 different stadiums across 4 cities and 2 countries, first in 1985 at the original Comiskey Park and most recently this past May at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 5
7 tied with 2

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 13
Jose Abreu 13
A.J. Pierzynski 12

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 9
Jose Abreu 7
A.J. Pierzynski 6
Tim Anderson 6

RBI

Name Total
Paul Konerko 14
Jose Abreu 7
Yoan Moncada 6

Doubles

Name Total
Jose Abreu 4
Jim Thome 3
9 tied with  2

Triples Continue reading →

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A Flurry Of Activity

The Cubs have seemingly turned Wrigley Field upside down, shook real hard, and let the pieces fall where they may.  With less than an hour until the trade deadline, they’ve made two huge deals, sending closer Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox for second baseman Nick Madrigal and reliever Codi Heuer and, in a separate deal, sending Javier Baez and Trevor Williams to the Mets in exchange for Pete Crow-Armstrong.

The first move, along with yesterday’s acquisition of Ryan Tepera, fortifies the White Sox bullpen as they look towards October baseball, giving them two All Star closers to choose from as Tony LaRussa sees fit.  Madrigal, the fourth overall selection in the 2018 draft, should hold down second base on the north side for years to come, assuming he can stay healthy.  He’s been out since early June with a hamstring tear and is expected to be ready for spring training.  Heuer has been a workhorse, and is the pitcher I’ve seen in the most games this year, but has gotten knocked around a bit more than the White Sox expected.

Baez, the ninth overall pick in the 2011 draft and the runner in the 2018 MVP race, has been a centerpiece of the Cubs run these last 7 years, debuting in 2014 and cementing himself in the lineup in 2016.  He is reunited with his friend and Team Puerto Rico teammate Francisco Lindor with the Mets.  Crow-Armstrong was the first round selection of the Mets in the 2020 draft and is currently their 5th ranked prospect, according to MLB.com.

With all of this, the one guy everyone expected the Cubs to move, Kris Bryant, is the last man standing.  Will something happen in these last couple of minutes?  Time will tell.

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Trade Winds Are A Brewin’

With a little more than 24 hours remaining before the trade deadline, the White Sox finally made a move, acquiring second baseman César Hernández from Cleveland for Double A pitcher Konnor Pilkington.  Hernández, who won a Gold Glove and led the AL in doubles last year, has hit a career high 18 home runs while hitting .231 with 47 RBIs and a .738 OPS.  The White Sox have been looking for a second baseman since Nick Madrigal went down with a torn right hamstring in early June.

Pilkington, the third round pick of the White Sox in the 2018 draft, is 4-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 14 starts this year for Birmingham.  He was rated as the 17th best prospect in the White Sox system by Baseball America at the start of the 2020 season.  To make room for Hernández on the 40-man roster, the White Sox released right-handed pitcher Tyler Johnson.

Meanwhile, on the north side of town, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are not in the lineup for today’s tilt between the Cubs and the Reds.  One or both of them are expected to be moved prior to tomorrow’s deadline.

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2021 All Star Break Batting Leaders

The All Star Game is in the books, as the American League extended its winning streak to 8 straight and White Sox closer Liam Hendriks earned the save, only the second White Sox player to do so.  As baseball takes the day off to prepare for the second half, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 32 games I attended, starting with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 5
Javier Baez 4
Adam Eaton 3
Patrick Wisdom 3
Yasmani Grandal 3
Carlos Santana 3
Brad Miller 3

Hits

Name Total
Tim Anderson 28
Yoan Moncada 26
Jose Abreu 24
Nick Madrigal 21
Yermin Mercedes 14

Runs

Name Total
Tim Anderson 17
Jose Abreu 14
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Keeping The Core Together

The White Sox announced today that they had signed Yoan Moncada to a 5 year, $70 million extension, with a team option that could keep him on the south side through 2025.  “I wanted to be with this team,” Moncada said through an interpreter.  “With all this happening, I can say I’m going to play alongside (left fielder) Eloy (Jimenez) and (center fielder) Luis Robert for a very long time, and that’s going to be a key for the success of this team.”

Moncada will receive a $4 million signing bonus, $1 million in 2020, $6 million in 2021, $13 million in 2022, $17 million in 2023 and $24 million in 2024. The Sox hold an option for $25 million in 2025, with a $5 million buyout.  If the option gets executed, it will make this the largest contract in White Sox history.

With Moncada locked up, the White Sox have most of the core of their rebuild under team control through the early part of this decade.  Newly acquired right fielder Nomar Mazara and oft-injured pitcher Carlos Rodon are under control through the 2021 season.  First baseman Jose Abreu is signed through 2022.  Yasmani Grandal and pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez should be here through 2023.  Tim Anderson and Michael Kopech are locked up through 2024.  Moncada and Dylan Cease are under team control through 2025.  Eloy Jimenez and Aaron Bummer are signed through 2026, and Luis Robert is on board through 2027.  This doesn’t even include Nick Madrigal and Andrew Vaughn, the team’s last two top draft picks, who have yet to make their debut and start their clocks.

After quite a few years of bad baseball, the future looks very bright on the south side of Chicago.  Rick Hahn has put the pieces in place to turn the team into contenders.  It’s time to see if the plan comes together and winning baseball can return to Guaranteed Rate Field.

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Adios Yolmer

Mere weeks after becoming the first White Sox Gold Glove winner in 21 years, Yolmer Sanchez was placed on outright waivers Monday night, effectively ending his tenure with the only franchise he has ever known.  The move was somewhat unorthodox, as the team was expected to non-tender the infielder prior to next Monday’s arbitration deadline, where Sanchez was expected to nab a salary north of $6 million.

Aside from his increasing salary and anemic offense, Sanchez looked to be losing his spot in the White Sox starting lineup sometime in 2020 when Nick Madrigal, the team’s first round draft pick in 2018, is promoted to the big leagues.  There is still an outside chance that Sanchez could resign at a lower salary, but there’s bound to be other suitors and, with Leury Garcia and Danny Mendick on the roster, losing Sanchez should not stop the White Sox from becoming a contender in 2020.

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

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