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The White Sox pulled off a shocker on Monday afternoon as they traded closer Addison Reed to the Arizona Diamondbacks for third baseman Matt Davidson.
Davidson got a brief cup of coffee last season and hit .237/.333/.434 with three home runs in 87 plate appearances. He has shown power at every level in the minors, hitting 20 homers in 2011 at High-A, 23 in 2012 at Double-A. and 17 in 2013 in Triple-A.
Reed, 24, has saved 69 games in just over two seasons for the White Sox. With the White Sox rebuilding, the need for a closer just isn't there, making Reed available.
Davidson adds to the confusion in the White Sox infield. One would think he'd be the everyday starter, leaving Marcus Semien and possibly Conor Gillaspie out of the picture. That is of course unless Gordon Beckham or Jeff Keppinger are moved.
Here is what John Sickels thought of him midway through 2012. Baseball America rated him the Diamondbacks No. 4 prospect heading into 2014. Their scouting report:
Born: March 26, 1991. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-3.
Wt.: 225. Drafted: HS—Yucaipa, Calif., 2009 (1st round supplemental). Signed by: Jeff Mousser.
Background: Drafted five picks before Chris Owings in 2009, Davidson went 35th overall and signed for $900,000 out of Yucaipa High, where he was teammates with Mariners righthander Taijuan Walker. He has averaged nearly 20 home runs a year in his four full seasons in the organization andreached 20 last year with his first three big league homers.
Scouting Report: Davidson has big raw power and the ball jumps off his bat. He’s got a bit of a long swing and struggles to make consistent contact, which will keep his average low, but he’s selective enough to get to his power consistently. His walk rate dropped in his first Triple-A season, though he handled big league pitchers well after being promoted for two stints in Arizona. While he still needs to improve defensively, scouts project him to be an average defender in time, and he makes the routine play consistently. Davidson needs to improve his lateral movement, quickness and conditioning. He has well below-average speed.
The Future: The Diamondbacks need another power bat to pair with Paul Goldschmidt, a role Davidson could fill if he can handle third base, which would shift Martin Prado to left field. He’ll go to spring training with a good chance of earning a spot on the Opening Day roster.