Transactions

Major-league baseball is, first and foremost, a business; fans and players forget that reality at their own risk.  If the White Sox think they’ll be better without infielder Tyler Saladino, they’ll get rid of him, as happened Thursday when they shipped the 28-year old to the Brewers.  My input on the matter doesn’t count any more than Saladino’s.

For what it’s worth, here are some of the reasons I liked him, starting with last season’s Fu Manchu moustache, along with the updates NPR did on the progress of his minor-league career.  And let’s not forget the tattoo across his back in memory of his best friend, killed in a traffic accident.  Add to that Saladino’s twitter account, which shows him holding what looks to be a sawfish (Saladino’s father runs a fishing boat out of San Diego, if I’m not mistaken).  Did I mention his last two twitter messages?  One is a Thanksgiving Day shout-out to American servicemen and women stationed away from their families.

The last message goes like this:  “I don’t come on here cuz Twitter bullies smell like old shoes.  But White Sox fans, you definitely don’t.  I love you all and wish I could meet every one of you and shake your hand or high-five you.  I hope to do so one day.”  Until then, Tyler, you should get a chance to work your way into the Milwaukee infield.  May you beat the Cubs singlehandedly five or six times this year.

But, if Tyler Saladino is gone, outfielder Trayce Thompson is back on the South Side after being traded in a package of prospects for Todd Frazier following the 2015 season.  Thompson, 27, is a graceful outfielder with power.  Alas, he’s never hit for average outside of his rookie year with the Sox in ’15.  The following season he managed 13 home runs playing part-time for the Dodgers before tailing off last year, so I imagine the hope is he’ll pick up where he left off with his first team.   

Saladino played smart and hustled; the same for Thompson, as I recall.  It’s too bad that, in the business of baseball, you can’t have two players like that on your bench.