While Lance Lynn made his start among a swirl of strangely specific trade rumors, the White Sox ended up dealing Lucas Giolito instead.
The White Sox sent Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Los Angeles Angels for catcher Edgar Quero and pitcher Ky Bush.
Giolito and López leave Chicago how they arrived, bundled in the same trade. The White Sox acquired them and Dane Dunning for Adam Eaton, and now they're heading to Anaheim for prospects who ranked second and third in the Angels' system.
Quero is a 20-year-old switch-hitting catcher who signed out of Cuba for $200,000 in 2021, and burst onto the scene by hitting .312/.435/.530 for Inland Empire in the California League. He skipped High-A and went straight to Double-A Rocket City, where he's showing the same plate discipline, although the bat-to-ball numbers have taken a hit. He's hitting .246/.386/.332 with 55 walks against 53 strikeouts over 70 games. That includes a July where he's walked 11 times against three strikeouts, which might be a reflection of improvement, or the Southern League's return to the standard baseball instead of the enhanced-grip variety.
Quero ranked 65th on MLB.com's top 100 list, and 84th on Baseball America's. The questions pertain to his ability to tap into home-run power and the finer points of catching, although there doesn't seem to be anything physically limiting him from staying behind the plate.
Bush, selected in the second round of the 2021 draft, is a 6-foot-6-inch lefty who had a fine full season for Rocket City in 2022 (3.67 ERA, 101 strikeouts against 29 walks over 103 innings), but his 2023 was delayed until June due to oblique and groin issues, and he's trying to find his equilibrium since returning to action (7.20 ERA, 33 hits, 15 walks, 42 strikeouts over 30 innings).
Here's Rick Hahn's initial assessment, if you care to hear it:
