After virtually two years of rumors and hypothesis, the White Sox lastly traded heart fielder Luis Robert Jr. final month, sending him to the Mets for utility man Luisangel Acuña and righty Truman Pauley. Contemplating Robert hit 38 residence runs and was a 4.9 WAR participant in 2023, it is an underwhelming return, however his final two years have been filled with accidents and ineffectiveness.
Acuña is Ronald’s youthful brother and he is a utility man who does his greatest work on the bases and within the area. Final season, he authored a .567 OPS with the Mets, but additionally went 16 for 17 stealing bases and performed 4 positions (second base, shortstop, third base, heart area). The White Sox determine to play Acuña more often than not in heart area this season.
White Sox GM Chris Getz has spoken extremely of Acuña because the commerce, as GMs are wont to do, however there’s one small drawback: Getz retains calling Acuña a switch-hitter, which he most definitely just isn’t. He is a righty bat. 4 instances — 4! — Getz has publicly known as Acuña a switch-hitter:
If it occurs as soon as, nice. Individuals misspeak. However 4 instances — once more, FOUR! — is a little bit of an issue. Getz does not know his participant and in addition his workers has not bothered to appropriate him, which is one other drawback in and of itself. Issues obtained to the purpose that Getz issued an announcement Thursday concerning Acuña’s handedness as a hitter.
“So I most likely have been getting carried away describing his versatility,” Getz informed Sox Machine. “Why does it should cease there? I known as Luisangel and informed him that although he is simply right-handed, we nonetheless love him.”
On one hand, that is so silly and foolish that each one you are able to do is snicker. Alternatively, the GM needed to name a participant and mend fences as a result of he did not appear to know which facet of the plate he hits from. It is not a terrific search for Getz. It is not the top of the world both — this will probably be forgotten in a few week — however a fundamental element like this could not escape the GM.
Getz’s White Sox went 60-102 final season. That represents a 19-win enchancment from their trendy file 121-loss season in 2024. After buying and selling Robert, the ChiSox used the financial savings to signal Seranthony Domínguez, Erick Fedde, and Austin Hays.
