Sox OF Rios reportedly claimed off waivers
Earlier this week, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn was asked if he expects to be busy in August, when players can still be moved after going through waivers.
“It's a busy period of time right now,” Hahn said on Monday at U.S. Cellular Field. “Each day, essentially during this month, every player in baseball just about goes on waivers with the bulk of the activity in the early part of the month. It is something on a daily basis that we are looking at and having conversations with other clubs about.
“If everything rolls the right way, we won't hesitate to do something. It's a matter of aligning, not just with the talent and the economics, but making sure it's the right fit for us going forward. There's no pressure to do anything from an economic standpoint or just for the sake of let's mix things up. We are going to do it to make sense for the organization for the long term.”
On Thursday, Foxsports.com reported Sox right fielder Alex Rios was claimed off waivers by an unspecified team, likely the Texas Rangers or Pittsburgh Pirates. According to at least one report from Dallas, the Rangers put in a claim for Rios.
If true, the White Sox would have 48 hours to work out a trade with the claiming team or pull Rios back off waivers and keep him on the 25-man roster.
Rios is owed $13 million next season and he has a $13.5 million club option for 2015.
Sox reserve outfielder Casper Wells went to the Philadelphia Phillies in a straight waiver claim on Thursday, so that clears a spot on the 25-man roster.
The White Sox were off Thursday, so look for Avisail Garcia to come up from Class AAA Charlotte before Friday's day/night doubleheader against the Twins at the Cell.
Acquired from the Detroit Tigers in the July 30 three-team trade that sent White Sox starter Jake Peavy to the Boston Red Sox, Garcia is batting .417 (10-for-24) with 1 home run and 9 RBI in 7 games with Charlotte.
Wells batted .167 with 1 RBI in 38 games with the Sox.