White Sox “Trades” with EVERY TEAM – AL Central Edition – 2025

A long time ago, I was listening to an interview with legendary poker professional Phil Ivey and the interviewer asked the question (paraphrasing) How would you recommend a player learning the game get better the fastest? Phil said something to the effect of (paraphrasing) Buy in to a game at much lower stakes than you would normally play, and then play every single hand for an hour. Try and figure out how you would play all of these different hands in different situations and positions that you are normally taught not to play in. In the spirit of that recommendation from an all-time great, Chorizy and I are once again going to undertake the exercise of making a White Sox trade with every team in the majors…..this is the AL Central Edition.

The Au Jus

Minnesota Twins

White Sox send: Andrew Vaughn 1b
White Sox receive: Chris Paddack rhp, Carson McCusker rf, Cody Lawyerson rhp
Rationale: The Twins ownership situation is in flux, and unlike the rumors around Jerry selling the Sox, the Pohlad family posted on Twitter that they are selling. With that in mind, it would be surprising to see the Twins do too much in the free agent market or expand payroll at all. They also don’t really have to as the team that was on pace to make the playoffs before it collapsed is pretty much in tact. One exception is Carlos Santana who will become a free agent. Leaving first base vacant. They could slot in Jose Miranda there, but he also needs to man the hot corner when Royce Lewis is unavailable. They could use a reliable bat at the position, but not require him to be the best hitter on a team with Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, and the before mentioned Lewis. Andrew Vaughn is that and is gonna cost about $6M.

The return is fun. Chris Paddack was traded to the Twins from the Padres in 2022. Over the past 3 years with the Twins, he’s only made 24 starts and has looked average at best. He’s in the final year of his contract making $7.5M and while he’s someone the Twins cannot rely on, he is someone the Sox could try to catch lightning in a bottle with and flip at the deadline, IF healthy. The “if” in that sentence is carrying the weight of the world. But taking on Paddack gets the Sox a bit more than I think they’d get for Vaughn in general. McCusker is a 6’8″ power hitting corner outfielder. While there is power potential, there is tons of strike out reality, so it’s quite the project the Sox would have on their hands. I did enjoy this in his write up from FanGraphs: “we think this guy could play upper-level pro ball forever, or be a KBO slugger.” Cody Lawyerson is a rule 5 eligible middle reliever. He sounds like a Bannister guy too, not much velo, but 70 grade command. Additionally from FanGraphs: “There’s a good amount of funk in Laweryson’s operation; he has an extremely high front arm throughout his delivery, along with a compact, herky-jerky arm action.”

Cleveland Guardians

White Sox send: Davis Martin RHP
White Sox receive: Ralphy Velazquez 1b, George Valera of
Rationale: The Guardians were once a proud organization staking starting pitching development victories on top of their AL Central foes to division titles. Then they would trade the late stage versions of these guys for additional wealth (see the Corey Kluber trade and how that’s working out for the Guard). But alas all good things come to an end. Cleveland’s starting pitching was by many measures a middle group, they only got 100 Innings from three starters last year and one was Carlos Carrasco and the upper minors ain’t brimming with fresh options either. Enter Davis Martin. He’s got Tommy John surgery in the rearview and came back to the White Sox in the second half of 2024 not missing a got-damned beat. He’s perfect to slide into the middle of the Guardians’ rotation at a league minimum salary. Their FAVORITE!

For the White Sox, you are still trying to cobble together hitters. Ralphy Velazquez looks like a hitter and one with power and average in the profile. The problem is, Cleveland signed the 6’3″ 215lber to convert him to catcher and ditched that idea after 1 professional game. So being 19 and already being first base or left field profile means you really gotta hit. Early returns seem good, but he’s a long way from the bigs.

George Valera is a name from the past. He used to be up and down prospect lists as the future of the Cleveland outfield and that just hasn’t happened. Injuries upon injuries have stunted his growth till we are here and now, he’s 23, he’s out of minor league options and he’s got a knee injury that will likely sideline him till mid-season in 2025. This sounds like exactly the gamble the White Sox should be taking. He’s the throw in here, but given that the power is still very much there and Cleveland had been playing him in all 3 outfield positions, why the fuck not? Throw him on the 60 day IL and see what happens when he comes back. God I love gambling!

Kansas City Royals

White Sox send: Lenyn Sosa 2b / 3b
White Sox receive: Anderson Paulino rhp
Rationale: The Royals absolutely sucked eggs against LHP in 2024. Despite making a historic turnaround and run to the playoffs, they just didn’t hit southpaws at all 26th in MLB with an 84 wRC+. Sosa would provide them a well above average masher against LHP that has the position flexibility to help around the diamond, as needed. Sosa is out of options and while the White Sox could give him more run to see if he’s an everyday player, he’s much more likely to be a short side platoon guy with a bunch of gloves in his bag.

Anderson Paulino is 26, has only reached AA and he’s Rule 5 eligible. He also has a 100 MPH sinker that really limits home runs. He has heard of command, but he’s not necessarily a proponent, so this would be a Banny / Katz joint to see if they could lock that down. If they can, he’s the type of arm the White Sox could really using coming out of the pen on 35th and Shields.

Detroit Tigers

White Sox send: Andrew Benintendi lf
White Sox receive: Kenta Maeda rhp, Trei Cruz ss/cf, RJ Petit rhp
Rationale: The Tigers outperformed expectations this year and made it to the second round of the playoffs. They did this without much run production at all, ranking 21st in the league in runs per game. Second half Andrew Benintendi could help them out. If teams believe that what happened in the second half of the season is Andrew getting back into form, he’d be a valuable piece on a team struggling for runs. His price tag is tough though as he’s owed ~$50M over the next 3 years. The Tigers, however, have very little payroll and have a dead contract to send to the Sox to offset a bit of the year 1 costs.

Kenta Maeda will make $10M this year, and whatever team is paying that is likely the team that cut him mid-season in 2025. The Sox take on Maeda and his contract and use him like Chris Flexen as long as possible (prob not very long). But taking this on gets at least a little bit of prospect capital as opposed to a pure contract dump. First is Trei Cruz. He looks to be a super utility guy, being able to play shortstop and center field. Only problem is that he had Tommy John surgery in August and he’s rule 5 eligible. The Sox should easily be able to make room for him on the 40 once he’s recovered. That may be more difficult for the Tigers. Another rule 5 eligible player is RJ Petit and oh man do I want this guy on the White Sox. He is a 6’8″ 300lb reliever that throws in the upper 90s. That kinda beefy goodness belongs on the south side of Chicago.