Spare Parts: White Sox starters have justified market prices, for better or worse

One reason why it's hard to be bullish about Adrian Houser's trade value is that the White Sox have struggled to generate exciting returns on two of their three pitcher trades over the last two years.

Is that a Chris Getz problem? Maybe, but if the market has generally been skeptical of the pitchers he was shopping, it doesn't help that time has validated their suspicions.

Take Erick Fedde, whom the White Sox packaged with Michael Kopech and Tommy Pham in three-way trade with the Cardinals and Dodgers that netted Miguel Vargas and two A-ball prospects, one of whom was injured and is still hasn't played a full game for the Sox nearly a year after the trade. Fedde had a great case for a spot on the American League All-Star team, and yet a package led by an out-of-options infielder was the most attractive offer in Getz's eyes, and James subsequently heard grumblings from Sox leadership that the league seemed less than convinced by the right-hander's re-emergence.

Smash-cut to the next trade deadline, and Fedde is the scapegoat of the St. Louis rotation. He's 3-10 with a 5.22 ERA, and everything has unraveled for him over the past five starts (17.2 IP, 33 H, 26 R, 26 ER, 8 HR, 11 K). The cutter, which was a revelation for him last year, has abandoned him over the last month, and it looks like he's going to be replaced by Michael McGreevey.

Fedde said “in a perfect world” he would “love to stay as a starter” and continue to get that chance as the Cardinals reach the final 60 games of the regular season.

They are discussing alternative roles.

“I’ve been clear,” Marmol said. “It wasn’t good enough.”

(UPDATE: Sure enough, shortly after this article was published, the Cardinals designated Fedde for assignment.)

And then there's Dylan Cease, who has also relapsed to his less flattering form. Unlike Fedde, whose previous version required a trip to the KBO, Cease is still capable of holding down a rotation spot in the majors, which is why he yielded a bigger (if not yet better) return, but after a fourth-place Cy Young finish in 2024, he's back to the way he looked in his last year with the White Sox:

Andrea Arcadipane of The Athletic says when you dig into the differences between Cease's Cy Young runs and his pedestrian seasons, tunneling is a theme:

The good news is that many underlying metrics point in the right direction. Cease’s velocity is still high, and his 3.49 FIP indicates that factors outside of Cease’s control contributed to his inflated ERA. That said, we can’t just assume that he has been unlucky.

Looking at his tunneling, Cease has more separation between his four-seamer and slider this season than last. The last time Cease had this much separation was in 2023, another season when his ERA was higher (4.58).

The Padres were reportedly dangling Cease last winter, and given A.J. Preller's lack of attachment, it wouldn't be completely out of the question for him to deal Cease at the deadline even while adding. But like the Sox the winter before, the Padres didn't get the kind of compelling position-player offer to make it worthwhile, and now it seems like he's struggling too much to trade as a rental.

Cease and Fedde will be free agents after the season. Based on the unevenness of their last two seasons -- and because they're both Scott Boras clients -- it could be a while before they get a contract to their liking.

Spare Parts

• What happened to Garrett Crochet's fastball, and why doesn't it matter? -- FanGraphs

The White Sox did get sufficient position-player talent in return for Garrett Crochet, and he's holding up his end of the bargain for Boston, but in a very different way. With the White Sox, his fastball did the heavy lifting. With the Red Sox, his secondary offerings are leading the way.

• Ballplayers reject the dropped third strike rule -- Pebble Hunting

If you've wondered why a hitter doesn't break for first on a swinging third strike in the dirt, it's because more and more of them have agreed that it's an unnecessary effort. José Abreu was a man ahead of his time.

• Damaso Marte embracing role as a pastor -- MLB.com

The most remarkable thing about the 2005 White Sox reunion weekend was the turnout. Just about everybody returned to celebrate Mark Buehrle's statue, including Damaso Marte, who is now a man of the cloth.

• Lucas Giolito expresses his gambling concerns to the commissioner -- Baseball Isn't Boring

Back when he was with the White Sox in 2021, Lucas Giolito, Zack Collins and Giolito's then-wife expressed frustration with harassment from gamblers following a random dud of a start. Four years later, Giolito says it's getting worse, so much so that he took his concerns directly to the league.