The polarizing Jake Burger for Jake Eder trade from August 2023 is officially a bust for the White Sox. Eder was designated for assignment today as part of several roster moves to create spots on the 40-man roster. The White Sox had to reshuffle the roster before finalizing the Opening Day squad, and Eder was one of the casualties.
Eder's Fall From Grace
The writing for Eder’s future in the White Sox organization has been on the wall for some time. He had a very rough 2024 season in which he pitched to a 6.61 ERA and 1.68 WHIP over 24 starts across the AA and AAA levels. Eder had battled injuries over the past few years, which could explain his poor performance. Still, he never put it together with the White Sox. His downward trajectory continued this spring, as he put up an 11.57 ERA and 2.14 WHIP in three appearances. Despite several of the team’s near MLB-ready pitchers succumbing to Tommy John surgery recently, the organization was still fine parting ways with him. Once a top prospect, Eder has fallen so far that even the worst team in baseball cut him loose. Meanwhile, Jake Burger hit 29 home runs for the Marlins last season.
Another Notable DFA
Eder is not the only notable trade acquisition who was shown the door by the White Sox this morning. The team also designated outfielder Dominic Fletcher for assignment as part of these roster moves. Acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a trade last year, Fletcher did not perform in Chicago. He hit just .206 in 72 games with the White Sox in 2024 and did not light up the AAA level either. He did show promise with the glove, but did not hit enough to justify having a spot on the 40-man roster any longer.
Fletcher is another player whose fate has been on the wall for some time. Like Oscar Colás, who was designated for assignment yesterday, it became clear that the White Sox organization did not think all that highly of Fletcher despite trading for him just a year ago. The team signed several veteran outfielders to one-year deals this offseason, pushing Fletcher further down the depth chart. Mike Tauchman, Michael A. Taylor, Austin Slater, and Travis Jankowski were all brought in this offseason alone to help address the organization’s outfield depth. Fletcher was left without a path to MLB playing time, and we now know that the White Sox do not envision him as part of their future.
White Sox Roster Reshuffling
Both Eder and Fletcher clear possibly waivers and remain in the organization at the AAA level. In any case, it is unfortunate that two prized trade acquisitions seemingly played themselves out of the equation so quickly. We might see both players on the south side again at some point, but it is clear that the White Sox are churning over the 40-man roster as much as possible to avoid another historically awful season.
