Grading The White Sox Max Stassi Trade

The White Sox added catcher Max Stassi and cash considerations in exchange for a player to be named later in a trade with the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. This is the second trade that Chris Getz has made with the Braves during his first offseason as the White Sox general manager. 

It’s no secret that the White Sox needed a catcher. After letting Yasmani Grandal walk in free agency Korey Lee and Carlos Perez were the only catchers on the White Sox 40-man roster.

Perez owns a career .597 OPS in a small sample size of just 67 at-bats. However, he is already 27 years old and hasn’t shown enough in the minor leagues to warrant a starting starting job at the big league level. 

Meanwhile, Lee did not look like an MLB-ready hitter after being acquired by the White Sox in a trade that sent Kendall Graveman to Houston. The 25-year-old hit .077 with a .281 OPS in 65 at-bats, 20 of which ended in a strikeout. Lee was once considered a top-catching prospect with the Astros and does own a strong pop-time behind the plate. Because of this, he will likely get another extended look in the big leagues next season but the White Sox were still in need of some catcher depth. 

The White Sox were rumored to be interested in Salvador Perez. Stassi is a much cheaper option to reinforce the backstop. Stassi is owed just $7 million next season. According to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Braves are expected to pay the bulk of Stassi’s salary. The Braves are sending Chicago $6.26 million which means Stassi will cost the White Sox a minimum of $740,000 next season. The 5-foot-10 catcher also has a $7.5 million club option for 2025 with a $500,000 buyout. 

Stassi was traded to the Braves on Friday in a multi-player deal with the Angels that also netted them infielder David Fletcher. At the time of the trade, the White Sox marked Stassi’s third team in two days. There is a reason for this. 

Stassi is a liability at the plate. He is a career .212 hitter with a .656 OPS and 80 OPS+. In 2022 he ranked in the bottom three percent in the league in expected Slugging Percentage (.325), weighted On-Base Average(.258), and expected weight On Base Average (.266). He also ranked in the bottom six percent in expected Batting Average (.180) and bottom eight percent in strikeout percentage (29.9). 

His high strikeout rate has been a concern throughout his career. In 2021 Stassi owned a 31.7 strikeout percentage. For his career, he owns a 29.5% mark. 

Stassi does have good plate discipline. In 2022 10.1 walk rate which was good enough to put him in the MLB’s top 75th percentile. He also does not chase many pitches out of the zone. His 21.1% chase rate ranked amongst baseball’s 91st percentile in 2022. 

He also did not play the entire 2023 season. The 33-year-old catcher missed the first half of the season due to a left hip strain. When he was ready to return he opted to sit out the remainder of the season to help his family after his wife gave birth to their son three months early. While the absence is justified it is fair to wonder how much rust Stassi will have to shake off once he returns to action. 

What Stassi lacks on offense he makes up for with his defense. From 2018 to 2022, Stassi owned the second-best frame rate in baseball, according to FanGraphs. Those numbers are thanks in part to his 2018 and 2021 campaigns. In 2018 he ranked in the MLB’s 97th percentile and 2021 he ranked in the 92nd percentile. However, in 2022 he was only slightly above the league average. Even with the down year, his framing ability should be a major benefit for some of the younger arms that are joining the White Sox rotation next year. 

Stassi also owns the third most Defensive Runs Saved (24) for catchers between 2018-2022 and had the fifth-best overall defensive rating (55.4). It reinforces what Getz has been saying all offseason about improving the team's defense, which now looks much more sound up the middle. While Stassi was elite defensively in

He does have a slow pop-time which could be an issue for a team that already struggles to hold on base runners. In 2023 Yasmani Grandal allowed 98 stolen bases which was the third most in baseball. He also owned one of the slowest pop times in baseball at 2.08 seconds. Stassi’s pop time in 2022 was 2.03. 

The Grade

You get what you pay for and in this case, the White Sox didn’t pay much. Stassi has his flaws but is a cheap option at catcher that will improve the White Sox defense and help out their young pitching staff. If he has a good year the White Sox will be able to bring him back on an affordable deal. If he stinks it will cost less than $1 million to cut ties with him. 

Catcher was a clear need for the White Sox and Getz has finally addressed it. It is not a flashy move but it does make sense for a White Sox team that is in a transitioning phase. 

Grade: B-