Chicago White Sox Trade Rumors: Is Alex Rios to the Texas Rangers a Bad Idea?

Chicago White Sox right fielder Alex Rios has been the subject of some fairly intense speculation since ESPN’s Richard Durrett suggested that the Texas Rangers had a keen interest in acquiring him.

While Durrett offers up a few reasons why the Rangers would be wise to trade for the White Sox’s No. 3 hitter, they all boil down to one thing—they need to improve their outfield and Rios is the best fit available.

Trading Rios to the Rangers is a bad idea, however.

The problem is that the Rangers’ minor league system has thinned out a bit thanks to some high-profile big league promotions.

In fact, Mike Olt is the only Ranger to be ranked in Baseball America's midseason top 50, and he is having a terrible year.

In 61 games for Round Rock of the Pacific Coast League, he is hitting .211 and has already struck out 82 times in 253 at-bats. He has battled vision problems, is only hitting a home run once every 25.5 at-bats and has looked overwhelmed at times.

All is not lost, though. Manny Ramirez found “a flaw” in Olt’s swing, gave the 24-year-old some advice and the burly third baseman made the needed adjustments.

Well, maybe not. Maybe Olt is destined to hit 25 home runs and bat .250 at the major league level.

Even the heralded Jurickson Profar—.235, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 30 K—might be showing his true colors.   

In an article for the Star-Telegram, Randy Galloway laid out a fairly convincing argument that Profar is not destined for sure-fire stardom.

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…I never heard scouts from other teams saying Profar was a superstar in the making. What I heard was he would become a good or pretty good player, not a great player. This week, it’s been the same when scouts were asked to project on Profar. Good, not great. Or overrated.

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Don't overlook the fact that Profar was a career .276 hitter over four minor league seasons before getting promoted to the 25-man roster this year.

I am not implying that Profar will be a bust in the majors. Simply suggesting that his star is not as bright as it once was.

Now, there are two players that seem to have legitimate value for the White Sox.

Luis Sardinas is a switch-hitting shortstop with excellent presence at the plate, a strong arm and enough speed on the basepaths to be a disruption.

Sardinas, ranked by MLB.com as the Rangers' No. 2 prospect, is hitting .293 with 13 doubles and 24 stolen bases for the Class-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

The other is Martin Perez.

He was 5-1 at Round Rock, compiling a 3.32 ERA and striking out 28 over 36.0 innings pitched before his promotion to the Rangers. Since then, he has gone 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA in six starts.

He could be a star, but as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan indicated, the Rangers are highly unlikely to move him, via Chris Roling of Fansided.com.

With Sardinas and Perez likely staying put, the White Sox should head in a different direction.

General manager Rick Hahn needs to look for a left-handed hitting outfielder who can bat leadoff for years to come. Even though Alejandro De Aza is hitting the ball much better as of late, there is no accounting for the serious lapses in concentration he displays.

The White Sox must also find a high-average hitter or two. Power hitters are nice, but this team needs to be able to manufacture runs.

The Rangers would need to offer up Sardinas or Perez and at least two more prospects in exchange for Rios and cash, and that is not going to happen.

They are not talented enough in the minor leagues at the positions the White Sox need help in the most to make a deal that works.

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