Report: White Sox trade Swarzak to Brewers for minor-league outfielder
Chicago White Sox relief pitchers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle were traded to the Yankees last week, and odds were quite strong Anthony Swarzak was going to be moved in advance of Monday's nonwaiver deadline.
According to a FanRag report, Swarzak has been traded to Milwaukee for outfielder Ryan Cordell, the Brewers' No. 17 best prospect per mlb.com.
Swarzak was on a one-year, $900,000 contract with the Sox, and the 31-year-old reliever pitched 1⅓ scoreless innings against the Cubs Monday to earn his first major-league save.
In 41 appearances with the White Sox, the right-hander is 4-3 with a 2.23 ERA. Swarzak allowed just 1 earned run in his last 16 innings.
Cordell is batting .284/.349/.506 with 10 home runs and 45 RBI in 68 games with Class AAA Colorado Springs this season.
To protect against the heavy bullpen losses, the Sox acquired relievers Mark Lowe and Jean Machi from Seattle and assigned both veterans to Class AAA Charlotte.
The Sox also signed Danny Farquhar and sent him to Charlotte.
In 382 major-league relief appearances with the Mariners, Rangers, Indians, Angels, Tigers and Blue Jays, Lowe is 10-27 with a 4.22 ERA and 6 saves.
In 194 appearances with the Mariners, Red Sox and Giants, Machi is 13-2 with a 3.38 ERA.
In 230 games with the Rays, Mariners and Blue Jays, Farquhar is 7-14 with a 3.85 ERA.
Jake Petricka is another option for the White Sox's short-handed bullpen. On the disabled list since June 29 with a right elbow strain, Petricka made his second rehab appearances with Charlotte Monday and pitched 2 scoreless innings.
Moncada watch:
As he gains needed experience, Yoan Moncada is likely going to bounce around the Chicago White Sox's batting order until he finds a home.
Joining the White Sox from Class AAA Charlotte a week ago, Moncada batted sixth in his first four games before being moved up to second in Monday's 3-1 win over the Cubs.
"Obviously, he runs very, very well," Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "He probably could be anything. Do I see him anywhere from the first to sixth spot in the lineup? Yeah, possibly. It would be very difficult for me to give you that assessment yet.
"I know he handles the bat very well. I think he's showing he has some plate discipline. These are some of the things that were worked on and talked about with him. We'll have to see how he continues to develop and where he's at."
Where was Moncada at in Tuesday's 7-2 loss to the Cubs? The 22-year-old switch-hitter batted fifth, a day after going 1-for-5 with 4 strikeouts.
"For me, it was just a lot of soft stuff that he was chasing down out of the zone," Renteria said. "I'm sure he's putting that in his catalog, his memory bank. As he starts to understand what they're trying to do with him and as he takes that information and puts his idea together and determines how he's going to put his at-bats together, he'll improve in that department."
In Tuesday's game against the Cubs, Moncada was 0-for-2 with a walk while being one of four White Sox batters hit by John Lackey.
Overall, Moncada is 2-for-20 with 4 RBI, 3 walks and 6 strikeouts.
"He's actually a pretty patient hitter," Renteria said. "When he does put the bat on the ball he can put a charge into it. Sometimes. maybe it's some anxiousness.
"We're putting him up there, let's see how he reacts and responds and then we make a decision, start to move him back down a little bit and let the game continue to play itself out."