5 White Sox roster additions that out-David Stearns’ed the NY Mets this season

The New York Mets spend this weekend playing the first place Chicago White Sox. Seriously. If you’ve been following the sport casually or finally woke up from a coma, you’ll be stunned to see the White Sox as one of the most serious contenders in the atrophied American League.

How’d they do it? Some good development of young talent and years of rebuilding didn’t hurt them. They are a young, up-and-coming team that had a lot of things swing their way. They also made some clever low-risk moves this offseason and even into the regular season that have paid off in big ways.

Not even including Bryan Hudson, who would have probably ended up cut by the Mets or traded anyway once A.J. Minter returned, the White Sox out-David Stearns’ed David Stearns.

These White Sox players were all available and perfect matches for the Mets

1) Tristan Peters

An All-Star this year and former draft pick of Stearns, Tristan Peters ended up traded by the Tampa Bay Rays for cash to the White Sox in December. An amazing defender and speedster without stolen bases, Peters is the kind of guy we should have expected Stearns to target for center field depth as soon as he was DFA’d by Tampa Bay. Instead he went to the White Sox for cash and has a chance to develop into a more complete hitter. While we can be satisfied with A.J. Ewing in center field, we’d take Peters 8 days a week, twice on Sunday, over Luis Robert Jr.

TLDR: He's fast, defensive, cheap, and was available for just some cash.

2) Munetaka Murakami

Remember when Stearns went to Japan to watch Munetaka Murakami play? Pete Alonso surely took notice. Instead of having Murakami replace Alonso, we got a bunch of slop we’re still not over. Murakami was completely overlooked by the entire league for fear of his inability to hit high-speed pitches. He has definitely been a strikeout machine, but with some of the best power in the league, he looks like a bargain on a two-year deal worth $34 million.

TLDR: Star power at a bargain, short-term rate.

3) Randal Grichuk

The Mets could have used some right-handed outfield depth. After hitting .194 with the New York Yankees, Randal Grichuk became a free agent and landed with the White Sox where he has hit 10 home runs in 161 at-bats. Annihilating left-handed pitchers like he has routinely done, Grichuk would have had a clear role on a Mets team that still hasn’t been able to do much at all against southpaws. In a year of Tommy Pham, Austin Slater, and more trying to fill this role, Grichuk would have done nicely.

TLDR: Scraps from another team who fits in a niche.

4) Trevor Richards

Trevor Richards is another player Stearns would know from his Milwaukee Brewers days. Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to Chicago for cash in early May, he has gone on to log 55 innings in 38 appearances with a 3.27 ERA. Several underwhelming seasons prior, he could have ended up as a good depth grab and more so in-season addition although we can’t complain outright because the Mets bullpen was sharp from the onset of the year.

TLDR: Overdue bounce back candidate who can go multiple innings in relief.

5) Jordan Hicks

Everyone is still trying to unlock Jordan Hicks. The White Sox are getting close. A 3.32 ERA this season with 45 strikeouts in 38 innings isn’t masterful, but this does feel like the type of move Stearns might have made. In addition to taking Hicks, they got Boston to chip in $4 million of his $12 million salary this year and next. Prospect David Sandlin joined him as well. The trade remains incomplete with three total players to be named later (two to the White Sox, one to the Red Sox) still unnamed. Hicks was never that great of a match for the Mets. In theory, this is the exact type of trade we’d expect Stearns to make.

TLDR: Still young, other team pays some of the salary, and a toy for the organization to groom.

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