It took Chris Getz until February, but he finally made a consequential move for the White Sox on Saturday, in the sense that he traded a player who didn't have to be moved.
And then he did it again.
First, the White Sox traded presumptive closer Gregory Santos to the Seattle Mariners for right-handed reliever Prelander Berroa, Triple-A outfielder Zach DeLoach, and the 69th overall pick in the 2024 draft, which was Seattle's 2024 Competitive Balance Round B pick.
Shortly after, word emerged that the Sox also traded right-handed pitching prospect Cristian Mena for the Arizona Diamondbacks in a tidier 1-for-1 deal that brought back outfielder Dominic Fletcher in return.
The Sox had Santos under team control for five more seasons after a performance that could be considered one of the team's few success stories, but there was also an element of uncertainty after he ended the season on the injured list with elbow inflammation. Berroa is coming off a year where he struck out 104 batters over 65⅓ innings in Double-A, and while the command issues with Arkansas (39 walks) followed him in his brief two-game cup of coffee with the Mariners (three walks, three strikeouts over 1⅔ scoreless innings), his arsenal is Santos-like, as is his ability to keep the ball in the yard.
There isn't much of a point in trading the 24-year-old Santos for the 23-year-old Berroa in and of itself, but the swap also gave the Sox a candidate for right field starts in DeLoach, and a first-day draft pick to add to the potential prospect pool down the road.
DeLoach, who posted a respectable .286/.387/.481 line for Triple-A Tacoma but struck out 173 times over 138 games, appeared to be a front-line candidate for right field for about 10 minutes. Then the Sox up and traded Mena to the Diamondbacks for Fletcher, and Fletcher already had some MLB success in the role the White Sox most need him for.
Fletcher, the 5-foot-6-inch brother of the similarly diminutive David Fletcher, impressed over 28 games with Arizona last year, hitting .301/.350/.441 with seven walks against 22 strikeouts over 102 plate appearances in his rookie season.
Fletcher crushed righties at both levels he played in 2023 ...
- AAA: .325/.412/.555 over 310 PA
- MLB: .369/.423/.523 over 72 PA
... and should give him the inside track for being on the long side of a platoon in right field, possibly with recent minor-league signing Kevin Pillar.
Fletcher was thoroughly blocked by Arizona's horde of young outfielders, with Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy all with fewer than two years of service time, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. signing a three-year deal this winter.
Mena was not nearly as walled off from the 26-man roster, and after throwing a career-high 133⅔ innings between Birmingham and Charlotte in his age-20 season last year, put himself within range of a major-league debut in 2024.
But he also had a 4.85 ERA between the two levels, and while he's way ahead of the age-for-level curve and as durable as they come, it did present a glimpse of a future where he doesn't quite have enough power stuff to supplement his ability to spin a curveball.
Berroa and Fletcher required 40-man spots, so the White Sox designated Lane Ramsey to make room.
