Sox swap Quentin for 2 young pitchers

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When he is healthy, locked in and not mentally beating himself up and down the dugout, Carlos Quentin is one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball.

Unfortunately for Quentin — and the White Sox — those days were few and far between in recent seasons.

The odds-on favorite to win the American League MVP award in 2008, Quentin was batting .288 with 36 home runs and 100 RBI heading into the final month of the season.

But during a Sept. 1 game at Cleveland, Quentin punched his bat in a fit of rage after striking out, fractured his right wrist and missed the rest of the season.

The tightly-wound outfielder had some memorable moments from 2009-11, but Quentin never managed to put it all together.

When he went down with a sprained shoulder on Aug. 20 of last season, Dayan Viciedo took over in right field for the White Sox.

That left Quentin on the outside looking in, and on Saturday, he was traded to the San Diego Padres for a pair of minor-league pitchers — right-hander Simon Castro and left-hander Pedro Hernandez.

The move should not shock Sox fans that have been paying attention this off-season.

General manager Kenny Williams admitted the White Sox were in rebuild mode after he traded closer Sergio Santos to the Blue Jays on Dec. 6.

Three days later, the White Sox didn’t even try to match the four-year, $58 million contract free-agent starting pitcher Mark Buehrle got from the Marlins.

The Sox did sign starter John Danks to a five-year, $65 million deal on Thursday, so they are not completely giving up.

If anything, freeing up the $7 million-$8 million Quentin has coming in 2012 might allow the White Sox to add another piece or two.

“What I will say is that there are some doors now open for us that were not open just yesterday because of savings of dollars,” Williams said Saturday. “... So we can take some of that little bit of payroll we cleared and invest it in something that helps the major-league club now, or something that helps on the horizon with another prospect.”

Razor thin on quality pitching prospects in the minor leagues, the Sox have high hopes for Nestor Molina, whom they acquired from Toronto for Santos.

The 22-year-old lefty was a combined 12-3 with a 2.21 ERA for Class A Dunedin and AA New Hampshire last season, and Molina figures to be in the White Sox’ starting rotation at some point in 2012.

Neither Castro nor Hernandez are as highly touted as Molina, but both pitchers give the Sox some needed depth.

Castro, 23, appears to have the greater upside.

Drawing comparisons to former White Sox starter Jose Contreras with his 6-foot-5, 210-pound build, Castro was a disappointing 7-8 with a 5.63 ERA at Class AA San Antonio and AAA Tucson last season.

Williams said Castro had some back issues that affected his mechanics.

“Hopefully, we can get the most out of him,” Williams said. “He’s a hard worker, and if anything, he works a little too hard. But he will be the first to admit that last year was not a year to distinguish himself amongst his peers that were considered high prospects. We have to get him back there.”

Castro was a Texas League all-star in 2010, the same year he started for the World Team in the All-Star Futures Game.

In 2009, Castro was named San Diego’s minor-league pitcher of the year after going 10-6 with a 3.33 ERA while striking out 157 in 140⅓ innings at Class A Fort Wayne.

Hernandez, 22, was a combined 10-3 with a 3.49 ERA last season with Class A Lake Elsinore, San Antonio and Tucson. The lefty split his time between starting and the bullpen.

Williams said talks with other teams interested in Quentin broke down, but the Padres called Friday with a new offer of Castro and Hernandez.

The trade was made quickly, and Quentin is now returning home to San Diego.

“We (White Sox) did underachieve, and I think everyone in that clubhouse would admit that,” Quentin said of the 2011 season on a conference call. “Being traded is a function of what happened. I care a lot about the people over there, especially about my teammates. I have a lot of emotion and love in my heart for my teammates I played with for the last four years.”

sgregor@dailyherald.com