White Sox trade Jake Burger to Marlins for Jake Eder
The White Sox have been too right-handed, too defensively limited, and too aggressive, so it was always going to take some subtraction from the 26-man roster in order to back out of the mess.
Unfortunately, they had to subtract one of the more enjoyable developments from their 26-man roster in order to make it happen.
The White Sox traded Jake Burger to the Miami Marlins for Double-A left-handed starter Jake Eder in a trade that looks like a pretty good value in Burger’s present form — 25 homers, but also a .279 OBP.
The question is what Burger’s final form is actually going to be. It’s an open question given his stunted development course after two ruptured Achilles, and given the different shapes his production has taken. He came into July with just 11 walks to his name, including a walkless May, only to walk 11 times over the course of 23 games to double his total.
If Burger is indeed limited as a lefty-mashing bat who can fake it at a couple of positions, then Eder is a fine prospect to receive in return.
Eder, a fourth-round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2020, missed all of 2022 with Tommy John surgery, but he returned to minor-league action in June, and it looks like the rust is breaking off with every passing week. He’s averaged five innings a start his last five outings, and he’s struck out seven, eight and 10 batters in his last three starts.
Eder ranked as the Marlins’ No. 2 prospect in Baseball America’s top 30, and No. 4 on the MLB Pipeline list. Both have his fastball in the mid-90s with good life and a slider with upside. The changeup is a project, but nobody’s pushing him to the bullpen yet. Keith Law had Eder in his top 100 before Eder returned from Tommy John surgery, so the upside has been there the whole time.
Burger also has some upside himself, especially since he’s been running with speed nobody thought he had. It wouldn’t be surprising if he continued surprising, but if he does, White Sox fans will have to watch from afar.
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I didn’t want Hahn making decisions on controllable assets, but then again, I cannot object to starting to remove DHs from this roster.
I like this trade for the Sox.
Will I miss Burger as a player and person? Yes. He was a lone bright spot in a dark season and was one of the guys that seemed like they still gave a damn every day.
On the other hand, we’re talking about a 27 year old with a career 31.6 K% and .291 OBP. He’s not a good fielder. You’re most likely talking about a back up 1B/DH on a good team who you can stick at 3B every once in a while. Can he improve his plate discipline? Maybe, but his minor league track record doesn’t suggest he’s ever been a patient hitter. Not to mention he’s redundant on the Sox as a RHH, 1B/DH, poor plate discipline, bad fielder.
Trading that for a pitcher of Elder’s upside is great value imo and really selling high.
I mean, he brings power, which Vaughn is not. Burger 6.8% BB% where Vaughn is at 7% this year.
Love Burger. Would rather have a good starting pitching prospect that is near MLB ready.
More trades please.
Nightengale confirms Cease staying put
The return was too good to pass up given Burgers K rate, Walk Rate and lack of positional value but man this is a team that since 2006 has really really struggled to put a lineup together that out homers their opponents especially in their own ball park …. this trade kills that hope for the immediate future. Where is the power gonna come from?
Really thought Cease was gonna go to the orioles for some of their bats but guess not. Think its a huge waste to have Cease for the rest of 2023, 2024 is a non compete year, then maybe they have a shot in 2025 seems like a waste of 2.5 seasons of a guy.
Andrus should be gone tomorrow for Sosa,
Grandal should be gone as soon as Lee is healthy enough to be activated
Clevinger should just be gone cause… we owe him nothing and he is likely a real bad guy.
I am genuinely curious why everyone is so eager to have Grandal gone and not Zavala. Yes, I’m aware of the age difference, but Zavala is incapable of providing competitive at bats and certainly doesn’t compensate with his defense.
Grandal’s contract is expiring and he won’t be retained as the Sox slash payroll. With nothing left to play for in 2023, there’s not much point to keeping him.
Zavala and Lee are likely sharing catcher in 2024.
Yes, I’m aware of Grandal’s contract situation and am unmoved. There’s not much point to continuing to provide playing time to Zavala, who has proven over a large sample that he’s not a legitimate major league player.
I’d rather see Lee and Perez if they’re not going to participate in free agency, as they probably need to if they plan to sell their talk about contending in 2024.
I would guess it will be Lee and whoever wins the 2nd catcher spot between Zavala and Perez in 2024. And if either of those struggle, then we may see Quero by mid-season. Suddenly catcher doesn’t look so bad.
Now it’s time to move on from Hahn and get a new GM from the Tampa or Dodgers front office. You would think guys in their front office would jump at the chance to run a big league club, even if JR is the owner. Then let a new GM decide whether to punt on 2024. If yes, then trade Cease and TA in the offseason.
There are now some very interesting pitchers in the Sox farm system. Eder, Nastrini and Ky Bush could all make their debuts sometime in 2024, with Schultz in 25 or 26.
It doesn’t look so bad in 2024 IF Lee is a legit major leaguer. He seems pretty fringy to me.
Quero probably needs at least another full year in the minors, which is fine given his age. At this point you have to assume he starts in AA next season and maybe sees Charlotte if he plays well. 2025 would seem to be appropriate timeline there.
Fringy would still be the best catcher on the Sox. I’m in agreement though. As soon as Lee is ready they can get rid of Zavala. Then next season, if Quero isn’t quite ready then it’s Lee and Perez. And like it’s been stated, Andrus should already be off the team. I guess we can’t ask for everything.
I totally agree on Cease. He is unlikely to have more value than now, and it makes no sense to keep him through what will probably be two very lost seasons. This is a 100-110 loss team next year, maybe 90’s if they pick up a few half ass free agents as is their habit. I only hope that in 2024 Cease had a better year and that Tim is worth something. Seeing what they get for either or both at the deadline next year will be one of the only reasons to watch in 2024. And frankly, it isn’t reason enough.
Clevinger had a solid final outing. His ERA is 3 runs lower than Lynn. His upside has to be at least if not better than Lynn, even with his injuries. The fact that they were unable to trade him speaks volumes as to how much trepidation teams have over his sleazy reputation. He might not have gotten much in a trade, but surely some team would have wanted him if not for his off the field garbage. Too bad.
I guess teams that needed pitching were like “we don’t need pitching THAT badly.”
Jumping to more conclusions that have no basis in evidence.
I would surmise that teams weren’t interested in a SP who couldn’t go past 5 and is only 1 game off the IL with an arm issue.
Clevinger has an ERA in the mid 3’s, and had a solid start off the DL. Any team could have had him for close to free. Yeah, it’s really crazy speculation to think his off the field garbage might have a lot to do with why NO team wanted him, much like NO team signed Bauer. Give me a break.
I wish Clevinger was gone, but none of us really know the reason why he isn’t. Could have just as easily been related to injury concerns.
Just look at our fan bases reaction to the signing. I’d wager that other GMs agreed he wasn’t that good to cancel out the ick factor on the good vibes from a playoff run.
I’m not saying the ick factor wasn’t an issue but I think the $4mil buyout was bigger.
The mutual option and buyout also made him more expensive in $$ for a rental than other, better pitchers.
I suggested trading Burger yesterday. Proof that Hahn gets his best ideas from the Sox Machine comments!
If Hahn was listening to us he wouldn’t be the GM.
Can you imagine Kenny Williams coming up with the great idea of having a Mike Clevinger Bobblehead Night in September?
I’ll miss Burger very much. I understand the limitations.
But I would have traded Vaughn and moved Burger to first. I do not understand the love the Sox have for Vaughn. Middling in every way.
Dagnabit.
I doubt they could have gotten the same return for Vaughn
I don’t know if I would trust Burger’s body holding up in the field everyday over the long-term. Or if all the stretching required at 1B would be a problem given his past Achilles issues. But so long as he can hit right handers well enough, he can just mash at DH. And with 5 yrs of control could turn out to be a good value for Miami.
Lame.
I like Jim’s “Burger-Eder” trade joke, but this trade is also The Two Jakes.
Pretty stunned the orioles only got flaherty… hope they love prospect rankings cause that staff isnt gonna do it in October. Not sour grapes that they didnt give us a haul for cease, just stating the obvious…. they didnt get the best rental and they didnt get the best starter with control… they are in their prime window with a real shot and a lot of their prospects are blocked… if you were an orioles fan you should rightfully be disappointed today
Sure, but if you’re a White Sox fan, you can rightfully be disappointed every day!
After the trade, only Jorge Soler gas more extrabase hits than Burger.
Happy with the trade. I wouldn’t want Burger to take any more at bats away from my guy, Moncada.
LOL Moncada has missed more than 120 games in 2022/23. I don’t think that is because anybody is taking at bats from him.
Tonight the Sox showed that the problem with the offense was definitely Jake Burger. Glad that’s solved!
Jake on Jake action.
Interesting info in the Fangraphs writeup of the trade
“When our Marlins list came out at the end of May, he was the organization’s no. 2 prospect behind only Eury Pérez and sat in the middle of the top 100 overall.
A week after the list came out, Eder made his first start at Double-A with the new elbow ligament and has not looked like the same player, according to Eric Longenhagen. After TJ, plus a broken foot that delayed his 2023 debut, his fastball has been down a tick, and his arm slot has changed, causing his stuff to back up across the board. A 50 FV prospect a few months ago, Eder is now a 45 and comes in at no. 6 in the White Sox system.”
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/white-sox-marlins-swap-jakes/