Cleveland second baseman César Hernández is headed to the White Sox in exchange for minor league left-hander Konnor Pilkington.
Hernández, (.231/.307/.431, 100 wRC+) is a clear starting second baseman solution for a playoff-bound White Sox team that lost its own when Nick Madrigal underwent season-ending surgery on a torn hamstring last month. The return of Pilkington is the sort of command specialist addition that a mighty pitching development machine that is looking toward the future would gladly make.
“César Hernández provides our club with a valuable combination of a power bat in the middle infield and Gold-Glove quality defense,” Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. “Adding a player like César gives Tony (La Russa) a strong and proven option at second base for the stretch run of the season and hopefully into October.”
James Fegan, White Sox beat writer: Assuming that this is the sort of league-average offense Hernández will provide going forward, and he provides possibly a meager upgrade over utilityman Leury García, who has worked his way up to a .247/.325/.348 (90 wRC+) offensive line after a very slow start. García, if ever settled on one position rather than a utility role, could likely be an above-average defender at second. But a better way to process Hernández is an upgrade over Danny Mendick, who lined the single that scored the only two White Sox runs Wednesday night, but has hit just .200/.308/.272 (70 wRC+) while filling García’s super-sub role. In the immediate, Hernández would at least grant the Sox an extra body in the middle infield. With three regulars out, Andrew Vaughn got the start at second base on Thursday.
Zack Meisel, Cleveland beat writer: Hernández was always Cleveland’s most likely trade candidate, a veteran deemed expendable, to an extent, no matter the team’s spot in the standings, and a placeholder for the club’s long-term second baseman. Now, it’s time for the club to determine the identity of that long-term second baseman.
When the Indians tumbled to a distant second place, behind the White Sox, in the AL Central standings, and with Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale sidelined for at least another few weeks, Hernandez was on borrowed time in Cleveland. The organization has motivation to allot playing time to Andrés Giménez and Owen Miller. Eventually, whether this season or next, Gabriel Arias and Tyler Freeman figure to force their way into the crowded infield conversation.
There weren’t many suitors for Hernández, as second base hasn’t been a popular position on the trade market this summer. More than anything, many contenders need pitching help. The White Sox, however, have searched for a solution at second base since they lost Madrigal to a season-ending hamstring injury. Coincidentally, the Indians and White Sox play each other this weekend on the south side of Chicago.
Meanwhile, the Nationals sent closer Brad Hand to the Blue Jays for Triple-A catcher Riley Adams.
Kaitlyn McGrath, Blue Jays beat writer: On the surface, this gives the Blue Jays another reliever for the backend of their bullpen, which has been a real need for the club basically all season, since injuries to Kirby Yates, before the season, and David Phelps, about a month in, really cut into their bullpen depth. Hand’s strikeout numbers aren’t as dominating as they were last year, down about 10 percent to 23.1 percent, and his walk rate is up to nearly 10 percent. But his slider-fastball mix limits hard contact and his velocity has also ticked up this year. He may not slot into the closer role in Toronto if the team doesn’t want to displace Jordan Romano — though we’ll hear more about Hand’s role when manager Charlie Montoyo speaks later — but Hand should at the very least be another late-inning option. By moving Adams, the Blue Jays used their catching depth to get the deal done, while also opening up a spot on the 40-man roster. (Read McGrath's full piece on the deal here.)
Britt Ghiroli, national baseball writer: The Nationals had just one other catcher, 21-year-old Israel Pineda, on their top prospects list prior to Thursday's trade. Riley, ranked the Blue Jays' 20th best prospect by The Athletic's Keith Law, "looks like a quality backup catcher with patience and some pop, more than adequate behind the plate and unlikely to hit for enough average to be a regular."
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