White Sox “Trades” with EVERY TEAM – AL West 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 West Edition.

The Au Jus

Texas Rangers

White Sox send: Steven Wilson rhp
White Sox receive: Dane Dunning rhp
Rationale: The word on the street is that the Rangers are looking to get back beneath the luxury tax. At the same time, Chris Young noted that they are looking to fill some spots in the bullpen. Within the article on the Rangers trying to cut salary, Dane Dunning is mentioned as a non-tender candidate.

There is part of me that feels the back and forth between starter and bullpen negatively affected his ability to perform as a starter. He’s worth a risk at about $4M. I’m sure Will Venable will have an opinion on this that will outweigh mine however.

In return the White Sox send a cheaper option for their bullpen. I know some people like Steven Wilson and the weak contact he produces, but it’s something I won’t mind being in another uniform.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

White Sox send: Bryan Ramos 3b, Nick Nastrini rhp
White Sox receive: Reid Detmers lhp
Rationale: The White Sox were interested in Detmers in the 2020 MLB Draft when he got taken right in front of them at #10 overall. The Sox ended up grabbing Garrett Crochet. Detmers was good in 2022…less so in 2023 and pretty much bad in 2024. The 2024 season though saw him yield a .357 BABIP and get more swings and misses than he ever had. He also got barreled up like a mufucka (scientific term). His bad year had some good, but still plenty of bad. This is a Banny / Katz project, but if they get him back on track this is a very good starting pitcher. Detmers is in arbitration in 2025, although he’s a Super Two player, meaning he’ll have 4 years of arbitration eligibility, which means he’ll be cost controlled for 4 more years, leaving the White Sox the optionality to turn him around and trade him or just keep him.

You can’t get this sort of upside without giving something up. Bryan Ramos in many respects is currently redundant as the White Sox went out and grabbed Miguel Vargas to play at 3b which is his native position. Ramos also took a tumble down prospect ranking boards this past season when he just didn’t hit very much in the minors or in Chicago (in two cups of coffee). I think he’s probably still a regular, but if the White Sox were seriously going to ask him to play other positions, this is probably better for him caddying for the never available Anthony Rendon in Southern California.

Nick Nastrini is here a well, upside still there, but with a much higher likelihood of reliever risk rearing it’s head after a rough 2024. Both sides of this deal are playing the change of scenery / bounce back card.

Houston Astros

White Sox send: Gus Varland rhp
White Sox receive: Kenedy Corona of, Misael Tamarez rhp
Rationale: The 2024 White Sox bought a bunch of bullpen parts at the dollar store and ended up discarding them for waiver claims and minor leaguers and ended the season with a much better pen from which they started. One of those great finds was Gus Varland who in 20 1/3 IP had 28.2% K-Rate with a 4.7% Walk Rate. He topped that off with a 2.04 FIP! He rated #1 out of relievers in Pitching+ on the White Sox ahead of Michael Kopech. Both his four seamer and slider were well above average on the Stuff+ metric. This is canon for the Chris Getz playbook, get a reliever to produce and flip him for more stuff.

Kenedy Corona is a centerfielder who is already occupying a 40 man roster space. This is desirable for the White Sox as they have Luis Robert Jr. and….that’s it. Corona not only covers the position but has a strong throwing arm to boot. The bat is iffy, with power that comes and goes and a lot of chase, but he’s a fit on the Sox 40 man give the defense. Misael Tamarez has struggled mightily as a starter and is probably fully ready bullpen conversion that the Astros have started him on in 2024. This is a work in progress, but with a four seamer that hits 99 MPH with solid carrying life, he’s a fine throw in on this deal.

Seattle Mariners

White Sox send: Miguel Vargas 3b
White Sox receive: Michael Arroyo 2b
Rationale: Am I overreacting to the small sample we have of Vargas? Yes. Am I trying to clear the path for Bryan Ramos? Yes. This could surely be a trade we look back on with disgust if Vargas becomes the hitter people expect and Arroyo flames out in the minors.

Seattle has been using Josh Rojas at 3b and while the glove is quite valuable, the bat has not returned to the form of 2021 and 2022. If they’re looking to upgrade the bat, they could take a flyer here without getting rid of Rojas.

On the White Sox side, Arroyo’s projected outcomes differ drastically, with MLB.com making a Howie Kendick comp and Fangraphs making this one:

To my eye, his swing is geared for contact with low-and-away pitches and that’s kind of it, and his in-the-box operation reminds me of former White Sox prospect José Rodríguez.

You’re trading with the Mariners, it should be a crap shoot.

Oakland Athletics

White Sox send: Jairo Iriarte rhp, Grant Taylor rhp
White Sox receive: Tyler Soderstrom 1b
Rationale: The White Sox have been searching for a reliable power source ever since Jose Abreu departed for Houston. Soderstrom, originally a catcher by trade, has light tower power. It’s above average barrels, exit velos, the fucking baseball screams when he hits it. He’s the type of guy, assuming he don’t chase too much, that could extend the great lineage of White Sox first basemen that recent prospects couldn’t make good on. Why would Oakland trade this dude? Well most likely they wouldn’t but their cupboard is a little bare in the Starting Pitching side and that’s a spot where the White Sox can most certainly help.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, these types of guys ain’t cheap. You know Jairo Iriarte, he came over in the Dylan Cease trade. He had a totally fine season in AA, probably a few too many walks, maybe a few too few strikeouts. He got his cup of coffee in the bigs this year. His stuff most definitely plays, even if he’d benefit from another half year on the farm before making him a full-time fixture in the rotation. Grant Taylor is the headliner of this deal imo. His upside is sky high. He got hurt in college and has barely pitched in the minors to this point, but even in AFL where he didn’t dominate statistically, he impressed big time.