Rick Hahn found a way to change the conversation about whether he should've traded Nick Madrigal for Craig Kimbrel.
Now it's a conversation about whether he should've traded Nick Madrigal for AJ Pollock.
Hahn found a salary-exchange partner, trading Kimbrel and his $16 million owed to him for 2022 to the Los Angeles Dodgers for A.J. Pollock, who has $15 million guaranteed. He'll made $10 million for this season, after which he'll be owed a $5 million buyout, or a 2023 option we'll get to later.
Two seasons ago, the idea of trading for Pollock's last guaranteed year would've been a disappointing proposal, as he opened his four-year deal with the Dodgers with a fourth consecutive injury-shortened season. He hit .266/.327/.468, which was only good for a 107 OPS+, which might've played better if he played more than 86 games.
In the two years since, he's reached the upside the Dodgers had in mind, hitting .290/.342/.547 over 172 games. The injury bug again ate away at him in 2021, first with a groin injury in May, then a hamstring issue in September, but at least it didn't hamper his play when he took the field. He tied a career high with 21 homers, stole nine bases in 10 attempts and struck out just 19 percent of the time.
Pollock managed 422 plate appearances around the injuries, and he's topped out at 466 over the last six seasons. That's the reason why he has escalators built into his contract on that number, and they factor into the future in two ways. Per Cot's, his $10 million player option for 2023 would increase $1 million as he reaches 400, 450, 500, 550 and 600 plate appearances, while the White Sox would have a $5 million buyout.
Give him a fully healthy season, and that's a $15 million option for 2023, but the Sox would love that to be the consideration.
More coming, but this at least gets the discussion rolling.
