White Sox make trades with Diamondbacks, Mariners
In town for a meet up with season ticket holders in late January, manager Pedro Grifol was asked about the White Sox's hole in right field.
“We’re not done,” Grifol said. “(General manager) Chris (Getz) is not done. Doesn’t mean something is going to happen tomorrow. Something might not happen, but the one thing I love about our front office is they’re extremely creative and looking to get us better.”
Getz took a big step toward plugging the hole Saturday, acquiring outfielder Dominic Fletcher from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for minor-league pitcher Cristian Mena.
In a busy day for the Sox's new GM, Getz also traded relief pitcher Gregory Santos to the Seattle Mariners for right-handed pitcher Prelander Berroa, outfielder Zach DeLoach and a Competitive Balance B selection (No. 69 overall) in this year's draft.
Fletcher, 26, appeared in 28 games with the Diamondbacks last season and hit .301/.350/.441 with 2 home runs and 14 RBI.
The left-handed hitter made his major-league debut on April 30 at Colorado and went 8-for-12 with a double, triple, 2 homers and 9 RBI over a three-game stretch vs. San Francisco in May.
The 5-foot-9 and 185-pound Fletcher also played in 66 games with Class AAA Reno in 2023, slashing .291/.399/.500 with 10 homers and 45 RBI before being placed on the injured list on Sept. 4 with a fractured left index finger.
With spring training opening in just over a week, the inconsistent Gavin Sheets was No. 1 on the White Sox's depth chart in right field. Fletcher is now positioned to take the starting job.
DeLoach is another option, as is Kevin Pillar, who is joining the Sox on a minor-league contract that comes with an invite to spring training.
“We'll take a look at that in spring training, with all of these options, and move forward with what we feel like is the best for our major-league club,” Getz said on a Zoom call Saturday night.
The 25-year-old DeLoach played in 138 games with Class AAA Tacoma last year and hit .286/.387/.481 with 23 home runs and 88 RBI.
Pillar, an 11-year veteran, played in 81 games with the Atlanta Braves last year and hit .228/.248/.416 with 9 homers and 32 RBI.
Berroa, 23, spent most of last season with AA Arkansas and was 5-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 43 games (5 starts). In 2 relief appearances with the Mariners, the right-hander threw 1.2 scoreless innings.
Santos pitched in 60 games with the White Sox in 2023 and was 2-2 with a 3.39 ERA and 5 saves.
Mena, one of the Sox's top pitching prospects, was 8-7 with a 4.85 ERA in 27 starts with AA Birmingham and AAA Charlotte last season.