Facelift

Well, if the White Sox looked ugly one day, they sure went out and got a facelift the next. A little before yesterday’s trade deadline, the Sox sent reliever Codi Heuer and infielder Nick Madrigal to the Cubs (!) for closer Craig Kimbrel. Discuss. Heuer definitely has talent, though it’s marred by a tendency to give up homeruns, seven so far in 62.1 career innings. As for Madrigal, recovering from surgery on a torn hamstring, I’m not that broken up over losing him. He has what you might call a high-impact approach to the game, which is definitely fun to watch; the next grounder to short or second he doesn’t run out will be the first, in MLB or anywhere he’s played since the age of six, I think. However, therein may lie the problem. Maximum effort on each and every ball hit is bound to lead to extra wear and tear on the body. Last offseason there was surgery on his left shoulder for a baserunning injury to go with surgery on his right hamstring this year. This is a dangerous habit to get into, you might say. Madrigal will be 25 next year. He can’t afford to keep landing on the IL. But that’s not my problem anymore. What this means is the Sox are serious about going deep into the postseason, so we’ll see just how good a manager Tony La Russa is as 76. Kimbrel should help right away, although I do admit it’s hard to embrace an ex-Cub; but Sox fans do what they must in the interest of their team. Cesar Hernandez looks competent, even though I’d rather have Yolmer Sanchez out there. Hernandez will probably stay around through 2022, after which my guess is the Sox will dip into their minor-league system for a young middle infielder. This is their one area of strength. But 2023 is a long way from now. Bring on the dog days.