The Chicago White Sox acquired 31-year old second baseman Cesar Hernandez from the Cleveland Indians on Thursday morning. The trade was first reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan as Chicago addressed one of their needs before Saturday's trade deadline. Hernandez fills the void left by second baseman Nick Madrigal who is out for the remainder of the season due to a torn hamstring.
Hernandez comes over from Cleveland where he has 18 home runs on the season and is currently batting .231. The second baseman won a Gold Glove with the Indians last season during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. Hernandez is a nine year veteran, who has a .279 career batting average. His 18 home runs this season are a career high and is more than any current White Sox player. The gold-glove second baseman gives the White Sox a permanent fixture at the position for the remainder of the season and frees up Leury Garcia to be utilized as a super-utility player providing manager Tony La Russa more flexibility with his lineup and his bench. Furthermore, Hernandez comes with a team option for the 2022 that the White Sox could pick up as insurance if Madrigal isn't fully recovered from his hamstring injury.
In return for Hernandez, The Indians will receive minor league pitcher Konnor Pilkington from the White Sox. Pilkington was drafted in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft by Chicago and currently has a 3.48 ERA with Double-A Birmingham through 14 starts. The Double-A. The trade could also symbolize that Cleveland might believe they cannot catch the White Sox in the divisional race as it is rare for a first and second place team in the same division to make a trade with one another.
With two more days before the trade deadline, it will be interesting to see what additional moves general manager Rick Hahn will make. The White Sox are still in need of adding one or two more relievers to their bullpen, but their second base need has been filled.
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