We’re less than two months from the trade deadline Aug. 3, but on Thursday, the White Sox made the first of what could be several moves to set up their roster for a playoff push.
To make room for outfielder Everson Pereira, who returned from a rehab assignment, the Sox traded outfielder Derek Hill and $250,000 in international-pool money to the Phillies for two minor-league position players.
“We’re in a little bit of a roster crunch,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “And I think it speaks to D-Hill and his performance and who he is that there was a lot of interest in him. It also speaks to where our club is. We needed to push a really good player off our roster.”
Sending out a bench player who platooned against left-handers — although Hill certainly had his moments — is a blip on the Richter scale. Still, it’s a prelude to what might happen when another injured player returns, Munetaka Murakami, whose 20 home runs still lead the Sox and are tied for third in the majors.
Rookie Jacob Gonzalez has been manning first base against right-handers in Murakami’s stead, posting an .842 OPS in nine games and holding his own in the field. He has played shortstop for most of his life, but Colson Montgomery has that locked down, barring more back trouble. If Gonzalez keeps producing, it would be hard for the Sox to send him down.
The same holds for rookie Braden Montgomery, who’s off to a fast start at the plate and in right field. Upon Montgomery’s call-up Tuesday, Venable said the Sox’ No. 2 prospect, a switch hitter, would play every day. So far, he has.
And now the Sox have Pereira back. He had been on the injured list since April 29 with a right pectoral strain. It was his second stint already on the injured list this season after he missed time with a sprained left ankle. Perhaps he’ll wind up there again and solve another logjam.
If he stays healthy, Pereira has some pop. He entered the rain-delayed game against the Braves with three home runs and a .453 slugging percentage in 18 games. He’ll be a regular against left-handers; he was set to bat fifth and play center field in his first game back against lefty Martin Perez.
Against right-handers, the Sox’ outfield is crowded. Venable said center fielder Tristan Peters and left fielder Sam Antonacci have earned their spots. Andrew Benintendi will contribute mostly as a designated hitter.
But when Munetaka returns in about a month, someone will have to go. These are uncharted waters for general manager Chris Getz, who seemingly has excelled at rebuilding the Sox but will be taking his first crack at putting the team over the top.
Though Munetaka essentially could serve as a trade-deadline addition, Getz has said that he’ll be monitoring the trade market.
“I know I have stated that it’s not about 2026, but this team’s playing really good baseball,” Getz said last week in Minneapolis. “We know where we are in the standings, and if there’s opportunities to add to this … we have higher hopes than just 2026 because we want to have a continual winner. But if there’s chances to add to this group, we’re going to do that.”
Before he even gets to the trade deadline, though, he’ll face another roster crunch.
NOTE: The Phillies sent outfielder Dylan Campbell and infielder José Colmenares to the Sox in the trade. Campbell, 23, will be assigned to Double-AA Birmingham and Colmenares, 24, to the Arizona Complex League to continue his rehab from a thumb injury.