1957
After just two seasons on the South Side (7.1 WAR, 38 homers, 181 RBI, 127 OPS+), outfielder Larry Doby was dealt to Baltimore in a seven-player blockbuster. Sent east along with Doby were starting pitcher Jack Harshman, minor league hurler Russ Heman and young slugger Jim Marshall. In return from the Orioles, the White Sox got right fielder Tito Francona, third baseman Billy Goodman and swingman Ray Moore.
Doby was only able to play in 119 games in 1957 and would never reach even 100 in any one season again. Oddly, he never played for Baltimore, as Doby was dealt back to Cleveland before the 1958 season and his career ended after a token appearance with the 1959 pennant-winning White Sox.
Francona was the return headliner as the Rookie of the Year runner-up in 1956, but had a horrible start to 1958 and was sent packing to Detroit in June (ironically, Francona was swapped for Doby for the second time in 15 months, in a one-for-one deal before the 1959 season). However, Goodman had a strong 1958 and was a key platoon third baseman for the 1959 pennant-winners, while Moore was a strong swingman in 1958 and contributed to the 1959 club as well.
Unfortunately for the Sox, although Heman and Marshall never fulfilled their promise in the majors, in 1958 Harshman was OUTSTANDING (4.0 WAR) for Baltimore in what became the last great season of his career.
Overall, this turned out to be a significant trade win for Baltimore.
1970
In what could have ended up a steal of a deal, the White Sox sent scrap-heap southpaw Barry Moore to the Yankees for outfielder Bill Robinson. While Moore never pitched again in the majors to make the deal a no-lose proposition, after a strong 1971 season in Triple-A the White Sox shipped away Robinson, who went on to minor stardom and a World Series title in Pittsburgh. While never an outright star, his leadership helped earned him MVP votes in two seasons of his 12-year career after leaving Chicago.
1979
The White Sox claimed first baseman Greg Walker from the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft. Walker made the big club for good in 1983 and had three seasons with at least 24 home runs and two years with at least 90 RBIs. He became the team’s hitting coach after retiring.
Also on this day, catcher Bill Naharodny was shipped off to Atlanta.
2002
It was a deal that didn’t work too well for the White Sox, as GM Ken Williams traded closer Keith Foulke, catcher Mark Johnson, Joe Valentine and cash to the A’s for closer Billy Koch and two players to be named later. (On December 16, the trade was completed when Oakland sent reliever Neal Cotts and right fielder Daylan Holt to Chicago.)
Koch never found the success he had in either Toronto or Oakland, in part because of a rare illness. In a year and a half with the Sox, the former AL Fireman of the Year only saved 19 games and had an ERA of worse than five! Cotts, at least, would have a spectacular season in 2005 helping the Sox win the World Series.
Foulke meanwhile, saved 44 games in 2003 and made the All-Star team. Williams may have had his hands tied by the fact that manager Jerry Manuel had lost confidence in Foulke and refused to pitch him in key situations in the back half of the 2002 season, as Foulke went from 69 appearances in 2001 with 44 saves to only 35 appearances and 11 saves in 2002
2007
In somewhat of a challenge trade, the White Sox and Diamondbacks swapped promising sluggers. The White Sox pocketed Carlos Quentin, who had a near-MVP, 5.3-WAR season in 2008 that ran up 36 homers and 100 RBIs despite not playing a game after September 1 due to a broken wrist. After injuries and a fall back to earth scuttled 2009-10 for Q, he had a solid swan-song season (24 homers, 77 RBIs, 2.5 WAR) in 2011 before a trade to San Diego.
Arizona acquired Chris Carter, who put up some amazing home run numbers (158 in essentially five full seasons, leading the NL with 41 in 2016) and whiff totals alike (twice leading the NL in Ks).
Quentin ended up with a 10.5 WAR career in the majors, Carter just 2.6.
2010
It was a day of optimism for the “All-In” 2011 White Sox, as the club inked Adam Dunn to a four-year, $56 million deal and re-signed catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
Dunn was long coveted by club GM Ken Williams, to the degree that a trade deadline deal during the 2010 season for pitcher Edwin Jackson was struck specifically to lure Dunn in trade for the stretch run. However, Dunn turned out to be the biggest free-agent bust in club history, compiling just -0.4 WAR in his near-four years on the South Side. His 2011 season alone was jaw-droppingly historic, as only seven players in MLB history have had at least Dunn’s 496 plate appearances and recorded a lower WAR than the Big Donkey’s -2.9. And no other primary DH has ever done worse. That -2.9 WAR remains the worst season in White Sox history.
Pierzysnki’s re-signing mitigated the damage done by Dunn’s, as the rascal catcher had a mediocre 2011 but bounced back with 3.3 WAR in his final White Sox campaign of 2012 — at age 35, the second-best season of the backstop’s career. Interestingly, A.J. was literally seconds from picking up the phone and calling the Dodgers to confirm terms of his signing when Williams buzzed in to meet his salary demands.
To make some room for Dunn and Pierzynski in the payroll, the White Sox dumped disappointing reliever Scott Linebrink and $1.5 million to Atlanta for minor league pitcher Kyle Cofield, excusing Chicago from $4 million of the $5.5 million owed on the final year of Linebrink’s contract; the veteran started bad, and only got worse, during his three years on the South Side.
