As the US Major League Baseball (MLB) trade deadline (August 2) approaches, trades are continuing between buyer (buyer) clubs and seller (seller) clubs. One keyword in particular is detected in recent trades. It is ‘return to family’.
According to MLB.com, the Chicago White Sox, which are on a ‘fire sale’ in this trade market, sent right-handed bullpen Kendall Graveman (32) to the Houston Astros today (29th).
The needs (desire) between Houston, the “defending champion” who wanted to reinforce the bullpen, and the White Sox, who wanted to sell all of their veteran players due to poor performance, met.
Houston traded catcher prospect Cory Lee, 25, in the first round of the 2019 draft in exchange for Graveman. Lee was Houston’s fifth-best prospect on the team by MLB.com.
Notably, Graveman was a Houston player. He was also traded from the Seattle Mariners to Houston on July 27, 2021, where he played half a season. At the time, after Graveman had a good 23 inning ERA (ERA) of 3.13 and 7 holds in a Houston uniform, he signed a free agent (FA) contract and moved to the White Sox.스포츠토토
For Houston, who needs to recapture first place in the AL (American League) Western Division, it is like throwing a game that sacrifices the first round for Graveman, who has a good memory.
But Graveman wasn’t the only player to return to his hometown during this trade deadline. The Los Angeles Dodgers and White Sox also returned players from opposing teams to their parents, as if they had promised.
On the same day, the White Sox traded right-hander Lance Lin (36) and right-hander Joe Kelly (35) to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Opposing the Dodgers was outfielder Tracy Thompson (32), right-hander Nick Nastrini (23), the team’s ninth-best prospect, and right-hander Jordan Ledger (24).
The Dodgers, who are running for first place in the National League (NL) Western District, bought the White Sox’s ‘sale’ at the expense of prospects to reinforce their selection and bullpen.
Lynn has been a bit underwhelming this season, but he’s a starting pitcher that counts enough to finish third and sixth in Cy Young Young voting since 2019. Kelly also fell short of expectations this season, but is a veteran bullpen who has won two World Series titles.
The main characters who returned to their parents’ home are Kelly and Thompson. Kelly played for the Dodgers from 2019 to 2021 and won the World Series in 2020.
Thompson was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2009 White Sox draft and made his big league debut in 2015 with Chicago. After that, he went around several teams and returned to his parents’ team this time. However, he is on the 60-day IL (injured list), so it is unclear whether he will be able to play in a White Sox uniform.
The Dodgers have gone a step further here. Enrique Hernandez (31), who played for the Dodgers for six years from 2015 to 2020 and was loved by the nickname ‘Kike’, also returned.
The Dodgers sent two pitchers to Boston on the 26th, instead of bringing Hernandez from the Boston Red Sox, right-hander Nick Robertson (25) and right-hander Justin Hagenman (26). Hernandez, who is sluggish in offense, but plays most of the defense in the infield, was transfused with utility in the infield.
There are not a few cases where sluggish players returned to their home team and suddenly performed as well as before. Andrew McCutchen (36) of the Pittsburgh Pirates this year and Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, who returned to their prime last year during the retirement season, are representative.
From the fans’ point of view, it’s fun just to see a player you missed playing again, but if you follow the score, it’s a ‘beautiful’ appearance that couldn’t be better. This is why it is noteworthy whether the effect of returning to the home team will also appear in the players traded this time.