Grading The Jake Burger Trade Six Months Later

Probably the most surprising trade out of all the trade deadline trades the White Sox made was the Jake Burger trade. He was the only player that was not an upcoming free agent, so it did not make as much sense to move him. But, Rick Hahn for whatever reason thought that this was a trade that he could not pass up and he pulled the trigger, sending Jake Burger to the Miami Marlins for pitching prospect Jake Eder. 

This was a surprise mainly because Burger was finally living up to his first round pick abilities, as he blasted 24 homeruns for the White Sox in less than 300 at-bats. This was the potential the White Sox saw in him when they picked him in the first round out of Mississippi State, but injuries had derailed his career up until last year. 

The White Sox either thought he was playing above his normal level or that the trade was too good to pass up, as they still pulled the trigger on the trade despite his fantastic play. If they thought that his play was just a fluke, they were wrong, as Burger’s play got even better after the trade to the Marlins. 

After being traded to the Marlins, Burger hit .303/.355/.505 with a .860 OPS. These are improvements across the board, as he seemed to figure something else out after the trade. His power wasn't as great as it was in Chicago, but he still hit nine home runs and he improved as an overall hitter, which was huge in his development. 

This says a lot about the White Sox coaching staff, as the Marlins clearly had some tweaks in mind for Burger, as it showed in his play. Now, the Marlins have a top 10 offensive third baseman in the MLB, while the White Sox are left with an unknown. 

For the White Sox return, there is a lot to like. They got a very talented left handed starter, but he has yet to prove himself after Tommy John Surgery in 2022. 

After a tremendous start to his professional career in 2021, posting a 1.71 ERA in 15 starts, Jake Eder would suffer an elbow injury, leading to the aforementioned Tommy John surgery. 

He would come back last season and looked okay in six starts, posting a 3.94 ERA in AA with some solid underlying stats. He clearly pitched well enough for the White Sox to feel good about him coming back from Tommy John Surgery to target him in a trade. 

However, since the trade to the White Sox, Eder has not looked great. He pitched to an 11+ ERA over 5 starts and was getting hit a lot, as well as walking a lot of batters. This could be chalked up to the trade and all the uncertainty surrounding it, but it is not a great look that Burger went on to get better and Eder didn't look great. 

Eder is still very talented, but he will have a lot to prove this season. If he can unlock this potential, he could be a front of the rotation arm. He has yet to show this in a White Sox uniform though. At this point, the trade sits at a D+