MLB

White Sox Trade 3, Will Call Up Top Prospect Moncada

The Chicago White Sox said Tuesday the team will call up top prospect Yoan Moncada. The team acquired outfielder Blake Rutherford, the No. 30 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, left-handed pitcher Ian Clarkin, outfielder Tito Polo and right-hander Tyler Clippard from the New York Yankees in exchange for third baseman Todd Frazier and right-handers Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson.

With the addition of Rutherford, the White Sox now possess 10 of the Top 100 prospects in baseball according to MLB.com (all in the top 68), the most in the major leagues. He joins infielder Yoán Moncada (1), outfielder Eloy Jiménez (8), right-hander Michael Kopech (11), outfielder Luis Robert (23), right-handers Lucas Giolito (28), Reynaldo López (36), Carson Fulmer (59) and Dylan Cease (63) and catcher Zack Collins (68) on the MLB.com Top 100 list.

“We made the determination that bundling these three players together was the best way to maximize our return on any transaction,” said Rick Hahn, White Sox senior vice president/general manager. “We felt this trade with the Yankees brought back the most quality as opposed to spreading our assets across multiple deals.

“Blake Rutherford is a player who has been high on our evaluation list since he was taken as a first-round choice by the Yankees as an amateur,” Hahn said. “Clarkin gives us another highly-rated first-round selection (33rd overall) from the draft, Polo is a Class AA outfielder who has shown he can get on base, and Clippard provides us with a veteran bullpen option for the remainder of this season.”

Rutherford, 20, is batting .281 (77-274) with 20 doubles, two home runs, 30 RBI and 41 runs scored in 71 games with Class A Charleston (S.C.) in 2017, including a .355 (16-55) average over his last 11 games. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Rutherford, who bats left-handed and throws right-handed, is rated by MLB.com as the No. 3 prospect in the Yankees organization and No. 36 overall according to Baseball America’s updated midseason rankings.

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