Sox deal Linebrink to Braves for Cofield, cash

The Chicago White Sox have acquired right-handed pitcher Kyle Cofield from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for right-hander Scott Linebrink and cash considerations.

Cofield, 23, spent the majority of the 2010 season with Class AA Mississippi, going 1-3 with a 4.39 ERA (27 ER/55.1 IP) and 38 strikeouts in 18 games (10 starts). He also made two starts with the Rookie Gulf Coast Braves as part of an injury rehabilitation assignment.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder was 25-26 with a 4.12 ERA (222 ER/485.0 IP) and three saves in 118 games (82 starts) over six seasons in the Braves minor-league system (2005-10). Cofield, who originally was selected by Atlanta in the eighth round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, was named Mississippi's Pitcher of the Year in 2009 after going 10-5 with a 3.90 ERA (61 ER/140.2 IP).

Linebrink, 34, went 3-2 with a 4.40 ERA (28 ER/57.1 IP) and 52 strikeouts in 52 relief appearances with the White Sox in 2010. He was 8-11 with a 4.28 ERA (76 ER/159.2 IP) and 147 strikeouts in three seasons with the club after signing as a free agent on November 28, 2007.