The White Sox have already traded away five pitchers this week and they might not be done.
According to MLB insider Jon Morosi, right-handed reliever Keynan Middleton is drawing trade interest and could be dealt before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted an update just 10 minutes earlier that echoed Morosi’s report. Nightengale also added that teams are continuing to ask for right-hander Dylan Cease and lefty Aaron Bummer, but the White Sox plan on keeping both for now.
Middleton, 29, struggled in previous seasons before signing with the White Sox to a minor league deal in January. After getting a major-league promotion in early April with key names such as Liam Hendriks and Joe Kelly on the injured list, the righty has certainly made the most of his stint on the South Side.
Despite some more recent rough patches, Middleton has put together a 3.82 ERA and 4.70 FIP over 35.1 innings pitched this season. He also owns a rather impressive 30.7% strikeout rate and 52.3% groundball rate that pairs nicely with high swinging-strike and chase rates, thus making this the best stretch of his career.
Though there hasn’t been a whole lot in the way of specific teams interested, the Rangers appear to be at least one of the potential suitors based on a previous report by Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Some of the White Sox’s other relievers, such as the recently traded Kendall Graveman and Joe Kelly, have largely dominated the headlines leading up to their departures and are likely the reason why Middleton has kept a relatively low profile in the news thus far.
Until more information surfaces, all we can do now is wait and see. Perhaps the White Sox will even explore packaging Middleton with someone like catcher Yasmani Grandal to boost the value of a potential return?
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Featured Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
