Did the White Sox purposefully pass on a better offer for starting pitcher Erick Fedde?
The Athletic’s Dan Hayes said on today’s episode of Foul Territory that the Minnesota Twins were willing to move one of their top prospects in exchange for the former South Side pitcher. However, the White Sox were reluctant to trade Fedde to a division rival and talks eventually stalled due to their high starting price.
According to Hayes, the White Sox were focused on getting one of the Twins’ top three prospects – Walker Jenkins, Brooks Lee, or Emmanuel Rodriguez – from the start of discussions. Minnesota was unwilling to include any of those players, though they were open to a package centered around the versatile Luke Keaschall. Talks ultimately stalled after the initial request and things never progressed far enough for a deal to be considered close.
Keaschall, 21, is having a solid season for the Twins’ minor league affiliates. In 95 games nearly split evenly between High-A and Double-A, the 2023 second-rounder is hitting an impressive .314/.431/.499 with 14 homers, 45 RBI, and a .930 OPS. Considering that no top 100 prospects were traded at this year’s deadline, the White Sox could’ve changed the narrative as Keaschall ranks 54th overall by Baseball America and 92nd by MLB Pipeline.
Hearing this isn’t particularly great considering the immediate backlash the three-way deal received from fans and insiders alike. The White Sox packaged Fedde, Tommy Pham, and Michael Kopech in a trade involving the Cardinals and Dodgers, where Los Angeles’ Miguel Vargas was the key prospect who came back. Insiders were quick to express their confusion by this “light” return and still are questioning this move days later, saying GM Chris Getz got fleeced by not getting more out of the trio he dealt away.
Vargas, 24, once came in as high as 29th on Baseball America’s Top 100 list, though has since graduated. While always an intriguing prospect in the Dodgers system, Vargas has not been able to find success at the MLB level. From 2022-24, he slashed .201/.294/.364 with 11 homers and a .658 OPS over 129 games with the Dodgers.
In Chicago, there’s no doubt that Vargas will have a much clearer path to playing time than he ever would’ve had in Los Angeles. Hitless in his first eight at-bats, the White Sox will look for him to start putting up more consistent results as he gets acclimated with regular playing time. Will he end up being a better option than Keaschall? Time will tell, but reports indicate a better offer may have been left on the table.
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