The White Sox weren't looking to trade Jake Burger. Here's why Rick Hahn made the deal

After Tuesday's trade deadline passed, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said he was looking to move starting pitchers Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn.

Ditto for relievers Kendall Graveman, Joe Kelly, Reynaldo Lopez and Keynan Middleton.

Trading Jake Burger, who wound up going to the Marlins, was not on the original radar.

"There (was) a lot of dialogue," Hahn said. "And the reality is that from the start of this process, we entered the entire thing extremely open-minded. That's how you end up with a Jake Burger for (Jake) Eder deal."

Hahn said he acquired Eder, a promising left-handed pitching prospect, because Burger is a right-handed power hitter and the Sox have depth in that area.

They do, potentially, if Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada stay healthy and Andrew Vaughn lives up to his potential as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft.

But for now, Luis Robert Jr. is the only consistent power bat from the right side.

Burger does have some flaws as a hitter - his .214/.279/.527 slash line and 102 strikeouts in 323 plate appearances with the White Sox this season were not good.

On the flip side, he hit 25 homers and drove in 52 runs for one of baseball's worst offenses.

Burger was also an emerging personality in a Sox clubhouse that has been pretty sedate this season.

"It's brutal," Hahn said of trading Burger. "Hopefully, all of that is reflected by the fact of what we think of Jake Eder. By no means did we enter this deadline period thinking, 'All right, we've got to find a home for Jake Burger.' We needed to be compelled to do that and Eder we think has a chance to be a very special and help many White Sox teams for a long time going forward.

"We love Jake, you try to remove that side of it, the more subjective side, and ultimately do what from a baseball standpoint is the best thing for the organization going forward, and that's what we feel we did."

Burger, the Sox's first-round draft pick in the 2017 out of Missouri State, didn't see the move coming but he wasn't completely shocked.

"Everything is always a little weird around the trade deadline," Burger said. "You never know what's going to happen. A lot of stuff happens really fast. It's part of the game, part of the business. It is what it is and I look at it as an opportunity for me to conquer.

"A lot of good memories and good moments, but it's really exciting for me to go to Miami and prove what I can do down there."

Burger debuted with Miami Wednesday night and was 2-for-4 with a walk while playing third base. There was a welcoming promotion at Marlins Park - $5 burgers.

Third base is Moncada's position with the White Sox, which moved Burger to second when Moncada came off the injured list on July 25 after missing six weeks with a sore lower back.

Eder is a solid prospect, but Burger was still a force despite his impatience at the plate.

"I felt like the month of July was really good for me," Burger said. "I started walking a lot more. I had some more plate discipline. I hope I can keep drawing on that and keep working on that."

Rangers pound Sox:

In the shortest start of his career, Dylan Cease gave up 7 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks in 1⅔ innings Wednesday night and the White Sox lost 11-1 at Texas.

"It was a rough one," Cease told reporters. "Not enough strikes, not enough execution and they did a good job of hitting it."

Cease was rumored to be on the move before Tuesday's trade deadline, but he said the rampant speculation was not a distraction.

"I felt focused today, so I don't feel like it really affected me in any way," Cease said.

After striking out 16 times in Tuesday's 2-0 loss to the Rangers, the Sox struck out 12 times Wednesday.