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White Sox acquire Blake Tekotte from San Diego for Brandon Kloess

The Padres send a former third-round pick to Chicago in an exchange of organizational depth.

By Jim Margalus
Blake Tekotte gets a close look at his future spring training uniform.
Blake Tekotte gets a close look at his future spring training uniform.
Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

There are a few White Sox fans who dream about Chase Headley locking down the hot corner at Sprint Stadium U.S. Cellular Field for years to come.

Suffice it to say, they’re going to be mighty disappointed if Blake Tekotte is the only player Rick Hahn acquires from the San Diego Padres.

The Sox acquired the 25-year-old outfielder from San Diego on Wednesday afternoon in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Brandon Kloess, who spent time between Birmingham and Charlotte in each of the last two seasons.

Tekotte, a third-round pick in the 2008 draft, has shown the ability to do a bit of everything in the minors – play center, play a corner, hit a little, hit for power a little, run a little (he runs a lot, but the success rate isn’t good), walk a little, whiff a little – but he’s done little above Double-A. He hit .243/.284/.402 at hitter-friend Tucson this past season, and he's fared worse -- .163/.226/.224 -- in the majors, although that's 55 plate appearances spread out over three cups of coffee.

Also, Tekotte was born and raised in Columbia, Mo., wanted to play baseball for a living, and yet he went somewhere else for college. I don’t get it either. But he'll have a place on the Sox's 40-man roster as a left-handed reserve outfielder who can give Jordan Danks some competition.

Regarding Kloess, Larry gave this description in a review of emergency bullpen candidates:

His sinker is low 90s and his slider is low 80s and sometimes he mixes in a four-seamer that's a couple ticks above his sinker. He's an old man at 27 years old but his performance this season across two levels has been enough to at least put him in the conversation should a bullpen crisis strike again.

One thing Larry failed to note about Kloess? His fantastic mustache potential.

UPDATE (9:42 p.m.): Rick Hahn comments on Tekotte:

“He had a down year last year,” Hahn said. “But he can run a little bit, play some defense, nice line drive stroke, can get on base. We still view him as a prospect, but he has to bounce back from some injuries and some swing adjustments he made last year.”

Keith Law is a fan:

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