On December 10th, 2013 the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Arizona Diamondbacks completed a three way trade. The structure of the deal went like this:
White Sox receive: Adam Eaton
Angels receive: Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs
Diamondbacks receive: Mark Trumbo, A.J. Shugel and Brandon Jacobs
In his three years, 85 games and 428.2 innings with the Angels, Santiago held a 25-22 record with a 3.82 ERA and a 377/181 K/BB ratio. He was named to the 2015 All Star Game and appeared in one playoff game for the Angels in 2014. This past season he was traded to the Twins for Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer.
Nolasco appeared in 11 games and 73 innings for the Angels, pitching to a 4-6 record with a 3.21 ERA and a 51/15 K/BB ratio. He is owed $12 million in 2017.
Meyer is currently the team's 11th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Skaggs has appeared in 28 games and 162.2 innings with the Angels. He holds a 8-9 record with a 4.26 ERA and a 136/53 K/BB ratio. Skaggs has dealt with injuries during his time in Los Angeles, leading him to appear in just 10 games in 2016.
All in all, the Angels received a former All Star pitcher who was then flipped for a once promising prospect, as well a pitcher with potential, but one who can't stay off the DL.
Shugel appeared in five games and nine innings for the Diamondbacks, holding a 5.00 ERA and a 5/5 K/BB ratio. Shugel was placed on waivers and claimed by the Mariners, who then waived him. He was then claimed by the Pirates, where he is currently rostered.
Jacobs never appeared in a game for the Diamondbacks. In 2016 he pitched for the Lincoln Saltdogs, a member of the American Assoication of Independent Professional Baseball.
Trumbo, the highlight of the trade, appeared in 134 games over two seasons with the Diamondbacks. He hit .243 with 23 home runs and 84 RBIs. Trumbo was traded to the Mariners in 2015 for Wellington Castillo, Dominic Leone, Gabby Guerrero and Jack Reinheimer.
Leone appeared in 28 games and 30.2 innings with the Diamondbacks holding a 0-2 record with a 7.34 ERA and a 25/12 K/BB ratio. Leone was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks and was claimed by the Blue Jays, his current team.
Guerrero, who is the nephew of potential Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, never appeared in an MLB game for the Diamondbacks. He was designated for assignment and claimed by the Reds. He currently plays in the Reds minor league system.
Reinheimer is currently the Diamondbacks seventh best prospect. He could turn into a super utility with upside type player for the D-Backs.
Castillo appeared in 193 games over two years for the Diamondbacks. He hit .261 with 31 home runs and 118 RBIs. The Diamondbacks surprisingly non-tendered Castillo following the season. The Orioles signed him to a one year deal this offseason.
Overall, the Diamondbacks received one top ten prospect and a lot of filler in this trade. While Reinheimer could turn into a future everyday player, both Eaton and Skaggs seem to have bright futures ahead of them; assuming Skaggs stays healthy.
With the White Sox, Eaton appeared in 433 games over three seasons. He hit .290 with 29 homeruns, 150 RBIs and 47 stolen bases. He held a collective 15.4 WAR with the White Sox. Chicago capitalized on his trade value and flipped him at the Winter Meetings for Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning.
Giolito is currently the White Sox second best prospect and the third best prospect in all of baseball. Lopez is Chicago's third fourth best prospect and the 38th best prospect in baseball. Dunning is currently the Sox 10th best prospect.
Eaton gave the White Sox three great seasons of baseball before being shipped for two top 40 prospects and another prospect inside the franchise's top 10. All three pitchers are expected to be a big part of the White Sox future. Giolito even has the potential to turn into the team's next Chris Sale.
After analyzing the trade it appears very one-sided in the White Sox favor. The Angels got two talented players in Skaggs and Meyer, but neither have truly lived up to their potential. The Diamondbacks got one of their better prospects in Reinheimer, but Arizona has one of the weaker farm systems in the league. He isn't close to sniffing the top 100.
For the measly price of Santiago, a pitcher who will likely spend his career in the minors and pitcher already out of the MLB, the White Sox were able to get two of the best pitchers in the minor leagues. While Eaton was great, assuming Giolito and Lopez stay healthy, they have the potential to lead the White Sox back to the World Series.
If the deal seems lopsided to you, it's because it is. And recently, it was named one of the ten most uneven trades of the past five years.Mike Petriello of MLB.com recently wrote an article breaking down what he argued were the ten most one-sided trades since 2011.
Among the trades were Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop for Steve Clevenger and Scott Feldman in 2013, Anthony Rizzo and Zack Cates for Andrew Cashner and Kyung Min-Na in 2012 and Kyle Hendricks and Christian Villanueva for Ryan Dempster in 2012.
While it seems like the Cubs dominated this list, the White Sox three way deal crashed the party. Petriello had this to say about the trade:
Before this offseason's Eaton trade, there was this one. After two seasons of part-time play in the desert, Arizona traded Eaton to Chicago in part of a three-way deal that also netted them Mark Trumbo and cost them Tyler Skaggs. That didn't work out so well for the D-backs, but it worked out extremely well for the White Sox, who got three years of very good play from Eaton (.290/.362/.422, 117 wRC+, 12.8 WAR) in exchange for a prospect who never made it in Jacobs, and a pitcher they didn't really miss in Santiago. Eaton's value, of course, was extended further when he was traded to Washington this winter in a deal that netted Chicago top prospect Lucas Giolito and two others.
Eaton's value isn't solely netted into Giolito, Lopez and Dunning, but it'll likely be what he is remembered for in Chicago. Assuming atleast Giolito and Lopez pan out, the White Sox got an absolute steal with this trade.
While Santiago was a decent pitcher, it isn't like he was on Chris Sale or even Jose Quintana's level. He wasn't going to take Chicago to the playoffs anytime soon. The White Sox also made the right move in trading Jacobs while his value was still high.
By taking a chance on Eaton, the franchise got one of the most underrated players in the league for three seasons, before flipping him for two future aces.
It's funny that in a deal surrounded around Mark Trumbo, Adam Eaton may be the most valuable piece of the deal. While he no longer plays for the White Sox, his impact won't be forgotten for many years to come.
The baseball world has given Rick Hahn more than enough credit for the job he has done this offseason. However it appears as if his best trade may have come all the way back in 2013.
Feel free to continue the conversation on Twitter: @DFappiano14
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