Getz Outta Here: White Sox Acquire Mark Teahen from KC

Kenny Williams hasn’t waited long to begin reshaping the White Sox.

One day after the World Series is over, he has worked out a deal with the Kansas City Royals to send Chris Getz and Josh Fields to KC in return for Mark Teahen.

This deal makes sense for both teams, but especially so for the White Sox. Teahen has averaged 14-70-.269 through his first five seasons. Add to that his versatility in the field (played 32 games in RF, 107 at 3B, and 14 between 1B and 2B), and Teahen’s value becomes apparent.

On the flip side, the Sox are parting with two players that have been given opportunities to impress but thus far have failed to.

Fields was yet another former college quarterback drafted in the first round by the Sox, and he joins the list of failed first-round picks. Fields’ bat has big league pop, but like many sluggers he’s struggled with off-speed pitches and therefore has struggled to keep his average up.

Getz represents one of the few guys who could steal bases on last year’s team. However, the fact that the team was slow doesn’t mean one of the few fast guys is better than his numbers indicate.

Getz was a .260 hitter in the minors with little power, and that’s exactly what he was with the big club. Yes, he stole bases, but that fact alone doesn’t make him valuable enough to not want to eventually upgrade that position.

Teahen will likely take over in right field for Jermaine Dye. While I never thought Dye’s defense was terrible in right, the numbers say otherwise. According to those numbers Teahen is a far better fielder than Dye was (albeit still below average for the position).

The full story of this trade won’t be told until KW completes his offseason moves. Currently there’s a hole at second, which could be filled by Gordon Beckham or Alexei Ramirez depending on what KW does. As it stands now, this trade looks to be a good one for the Sox.