Photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
April 3—The White Sox have acquired Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire (27), in exchange for catcher Zack Collins. McGuire will back up Yasmani Grandal. Tony La Russa has stated that he plans to give Grandal a couple of days away from the catcher position each week, putting him in the lineup as DH.
Photo credit: Will Newton
April 1—The White Sox have acquired veteran outfielder AJ Pollock from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for reliever Craig Kimbrel—a deal that will disappoint no one in Chicago! Pollock debuted with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012, where he remained for seven seasons. He signed with the Dodgers as a free agent prior to the start of the 2019 season. Last season with the Dodgers, Pollock went 114-for-384, batting .297/.355/.536 with 69 RBI, 53 RS, 9 SB and 21 HR in 117 G. We’ll take it!
July 30—The Chicago Cubs trade veteran right-handed closer and 8x All-Star Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox for injured second baseman Nick Madrigal (sad face) and RHP Codi Heuer. Kimbrel has the most career saves (368) of any active pitcher, and is 9th on the all-time saves list. He was drafted by Atlanta in the third round of the 2008 draft, and debuted with the Braves in 2010. He was subsequently traded to the Padres, Red Sox, and Cubs. Kimbral joins the Sox with a season-to-date ERA of 0.49 and 64 SO on 36 ⅔ IP. Publicly at least, Liam Hendriks is handling the trade like a champ.
July 29—The Chicago Cubs trade right-handed reliever Ryan Tepera to the White Sox for A+ LHP Bailey Horn, who came to the Sox from Auburn University in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. Tepera received a three-game suspension early this season for intentionally hitting Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff. He was one of four Cubs pitchers to throw a combined no-hitter against the Dodgers on 06/24/2021. His season-to-date ERA is 2.91 with 50 SO on 43 ⅓ IP.
July 29—The Cleveland Indians trade 9-year veteran second baseman César Hernández to the White Sox for AA RHP Konnor Pilkington, who came to the Sox from Mississippi State in the third round of the 2018 draft. Hernandez won the AL Golden Glove at 2B in 2020. His season-to-date batting average of .231 is down from his career average of .272.
