White Sox send Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly to Dodgers
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two days after shipping out Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to the Angels, the White Sox are trading away two more pitchers, reportedly sending Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to the Dodgers for an outfielder and two pitching prospects.
It marks the second major trade for the White Sox this week, as they begin selling off assets amid an abysmal season that has seen them fall 22 games under .500.
Bob Nightengale, of USA Today, was the first to report the Dodgers were acquiring Lynn and Kelly. Jeff Passan, at ESPN, was first to report what the White Sox were getting back for the two veterans.
Lynn, 36, owns a 6.28 ERA and leads baseball in earned runs (78) and home runs (28) allowed. Despite that, there are several reasons to believe he can be better down the stretch. Lynn recently brought back his curveball, leading to an increase in strikeouts, and the Dodgers are a far better defensive team than the ChiSox.
The Dodgers have had their rotation depth compromised by injuries. At the moment, they're without Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Ryan Pepiot. They also recently traded Noah Syndergaard to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for infielder Amed Rosario.
Lynn is owed approximately $6 million the rest of this season plus a $1 million buyout of his $18 million club option for next year. It is likely the White Sox paid down some of that money to facilitate the trade. According to The Athletic, the Dodgers were on Lynn's 10-team no-trade list, so he would have to approve the trade to Los Angeles.
Kelly, 35, would be joining the Dodgers for the second time. In 31 games this season he had compiled a 4.97 ERA (90 ERA+) and a 3.42 strikeout-to-walk ratio. It's worth noting that Kelly's strikeout-to-walk ratio would represent a new career-high if he's able to sustain it the rest of the season.
The White Sox will acquire Double-A pitchers Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure, and outfielder Trayce Thompson, who is currently on the 60-day injured list, but began a rehab assignment this week following an oblique injury.
Thompson, originally a 2009 draft pick by the White Sox, has had two stints with the organization before, and went to the Dodgers in December 2015 as part of the deal that brought Todd Frazier to Chicago from the Reds. The Dodgers ended up waiving Thompson, who went to the Yankees and Athletics before the Sox acquired him in a trade in 2018, before allowing him to leave in free agency at the end of that season.
For the White Sox, this would be the continuation of what's become a busy trade deadline. Earlier this week, they sent two other veteran right-handers, in Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López, packing to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for catching prospect Edgar Quero and left-handed pitcher Ky Bush.
