The White Sox have completed their first trade ahead of Monday’s deadline. According to Jeff Passan and multiple other reports, the team has acquired outfielder Jarrod Dyson from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for international bonus pool money. The move has since been made official by the Sox on Twitter.
Dyson is in his 11th Major League season and quite honestly, hasn’t been all that noteworthy since joining the Pirates. Take a look at the offensive numbers and you wish you probably did not. His current slash is a mere .157/.218/.157 over the course of 55 plate appearances (21 games). Luckily, the bat isn’t the selling point in this deal, nor should it be with guys like Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert penciled in the lineup on a daily basis.
The use for Dyson comes with his defensive ability and his speed. The 36-year-old veteran has swiped 30 bags or more five times in his career and is the perfect candidate to come on late in the games as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement. This is a role that minor league outfielder Luis Gonzalez just couldn’t fulfill as the Sox are about to dive head first into this season’s second half.
Though Gonzalez’s speed was sufficient, he notably dropped the first fly ball he saw in his debut, and simply put, isn’t a guy this team can currently trust down the stretch with a postseason berth on the line. The Sox need someone with the experience in late-game situations, and Dyson is just that. Having both him and Engel now at your disposal to serve as 8th or 9th inning replacements for Mazara and Jimenez is bad news for any team looking to find the gap.
In addition to his speed and defense, Dyson is another example of a guy who has winning experience in October. We all remember him best from his days at Kansas City, where he was a member of the Royals playoff teams in 2014 and 2015. That sort of background in the clubhouse will certainly be accepted with open arms.
I think it’s also important to note that a move like this isn’t one where the White Sox just go out and sign an aging veteran past their prime. It’s a deal that gives the team much needed depth and a viable option, which will be crucial as they attempt to become a playoff team for the first time since 2008. As for the international bonus pool money, it is from the current 2019 period so have no worries. It will not impact potential upcoming signings once the next signing period begins.
With one move down, will any more follow? We’ll see what the front office has planned in the coming days.
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Featured Photo: Pirates/Twitter
