White Sox trade for Anthony Ranaudo, option Scott Carroll to Charlotte

The White Sox made a move today and acquired right-handed pitcher Anthony Ranaudo from the Texas Rangers in exchange for minor league righty Matt Ball. To make room for somebody, the Sox optioned Scott Carroll to Charlotte. But it's likely not Ranaudo, as the Sox announced they optioned him to Charlotte as well.

The Sox said they'll make a corresponding move before the series opener against the Yankees on Friday.

If you were watching the game two nights ago, you saw Ranaudo pitch.  In his 1⅓ innings pitched, he gave up five runs on five walks.  In his only other appearance for the Rangers this season, he gave up two runs in 2⅓ innings while walking three, striking out two and allowing a homer. With all of this, it shouldn't be surprising to hear that he has a 17.18 ERA and a 12.08 FIP.

If this sounds too familiar, you might want to cover your eyes. In 2014, the Sox trounced Hector Noesi while he was pitching for the Rangers. Noesi gave up seven runs to the Sox in a single inning. Six days later, Noesi was pitching for the White Sox.

Ranaudo, however, is from the more classic mold of fixer-uppers they've been known for. Like Roberto Hernandez, Ranaudo was a first-round pick. He was the 39th pick in the first round by the Red Sox in 2011. He's got a standard starter's arsenal with a four-seam fastball, changeup, slider, and curveball.  Mostly, he just uses his fastball, which usually sits at about 92 mph with decent use of his curveball, then the slider and changeup occasionally mixed in. It's not the typical White Sox stuff though as a sinker doesn't even show up on Brooks Baseball for him, so the "fix 'em" will probably start right there.

With this move, the Sox 40-man roster goes up to 39.