With Dayan Viciedo on the disabled list, four out of the five outfielders on the 25-man roster were left-handed, posing a bit of a problem against the likes of Matt Moore and David Price.
The Sox removed one of the lefties by optioning Blake Tekotte to Triple-A, and they replaced him with a righty from the outside, acquiring Casper Wells from Oakland for cash considerations in a move announced by the team tonight.
I'm not going to say I called it, but:
I'm guessing the Sox are making room for a pitcher by optioning Tekotte. With Santiago in the rotation and Veal shaky, my WAG: David Purcey.
— South Side Sox (@SouthSideSox) April 28, 2013
Either that, or it's the White Sox's turn to claim Casper Wells.
— South Side Sox (@SouthSideSox) April 28, 2013
The latter tweet stood a puncher's chance of being correct, because in a previous tweet, I called Wells "Baseball's 26th Man." The White Sox are his fourth organization this month. A brief timeline:
- March 31: Mariners designate him for assignment.
- April 10: Blue Jays claim Wells from Seattle.
- April 15: Blue Jays designate Wells for assignment.
- April 22: Blue Jays trade Wells to Oakland for cash considerations.
- April 28: Athletics designate Wells for assignment.
- April 29: White Sox acquire Wells from Oakland for cash considerations.
As a result, the Schenectady High School alum (what's up, Capital Region?) has only played in three games this year, receiving all of five plate appearances from Oakland. He's 0-for-5.
The White Sox created a spot on the 40-man roster by moving Leyson Septimo to the 60-day DL, making those Tony Pena comparisons all the more acute.
Wells has received just about a full season's worth of plate appearances over his career, and this is what it looks like:
Year | G | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | 36 | 99 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 6 | 19 | .323 | .364 | .538 | 141 |
2011 | 95 | 241 | 51 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 27 | 18 | 71 | .237 | .317 | .442 | 110 |
2012 | 93 | 316 | 65 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 36 | 26 | 80 | .228 | .302 | .396 | 99 |
2013 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | -100 |
4 Yrs | 227 | 661 | 146 | 29 | 4 | 25 | 80 | 50 | 171 | .244 | .314 | .431 | 108 |
(2012 was with Seattle, and you can see how Safeco Field played like Death Valley for hitters. A .698 OPS is nearly average when adjusting for park factors.)
More pertinent to this moment, Wells owns a career line of .261/.345/.482 against lefties. His defense is considered an asset in the corners, and he can "chip in at center field without constituting a war crime," according to Lookout Landing.
I'll have more about his recent history tomorrow.