The White Sox pulled a shocker right before the trade deadline acquiring 28-year old righty starting pitcher Jake Peavy for 22-year old lefty starting pitcher Aaron Poreda, 25-year old lefty starting pitcher Clayton Richard, 26-year old righty reliever Adam Russell and 22-year old righty starting pitcher Dexter Carter. The White Sox feel that Peavy’s ankle was improving enough to make this deal. Peavy pitched in 13 games (all starts) for the Padres this season and he was 6-6 with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He only allowed 69 hits in 81 2/3 innings for the Padres this season while whiffing 92 batters showing how nasty he has been when healthy. Peavy has now pitched in 212 games (all starts) in his 8 year major league career and he is 92-68 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He has only allowed 1,158 hits in 1,342 2/3 innings in his career while he has whiffed 1,348 batters. The White Sox are getting Peavy right as he’s hitting his prime so they didn’t overpay for him.

Aaron Poreda was the White Sox’ #3 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Pale Hose this season and he was 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Poreda also had pitched in 12 games (all starts) in AA+AAA ball this season and he was 5-4 with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has top of the rotation potential down the road. Clayton Richard pitched in 26 games (14 starts) for the White Sox this season and he was 4-3 with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. In parts of two seasons for the White Sox, Richard pitched in 39 games (22 starts) in which he was 6-8 with a 5.14 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He should really benefit by pitching half of his games at Petco Field. Adam Russell was the White Sox’ #27 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he was 2-2 with 5 saves, a 3.20 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Russell has also pitched in 22 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 4-0 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Russell will likely move right into the Padres’ bullpen. 22-year old righty starting pitcher Dexter Carter is the sleeper in this trade for the Padres as he’s very talented. Carter pitched in 19 games (all starts) in A-ball this season and he was 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Carter has only allowed 103 hits in 118 innings this season while whiffing 143 batters. Make no mistake, the White Sox gave up a lot of talent to get Jake Peavy but that’s what it costs to get an elite starting pitcher.

The White Sox have acquired 33-year old 1B/OF Mark Kotsay and cash from the Red Sox for 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Brian Anderson. Kotsay played in 27 games for the Red Sox this season and he was 19 for 74 (.257 avg, .615 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 5 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Kotsay has now played in 1,477 games in his major league career and he is 1,543 for 5,493 (.281 avg, .749 OPS) with 713 runs scored, 110 homers, 614 RBIs and 93 stolen bases. Kotsay is a good defensive outfielder and he can also handle first base with the mitt on. This was a nice little upgrade for the Red Sox as Anderson has never developed with a bat in his hands. Anderson played in 65 games for the White Sox this season and he was 44 for 185 (.238 avg, .641 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 2 homers, 13 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He played in parts of five seasons for the White Sox covering 334 games in which he was 176 for 782 (.225 avg, .652 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 20 homers, 75 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. The White Sox had tired of Anderson saying how great he was and then watching him stink it up.

Veteran lefty Mark Buehrle is one of the most dependable starting pitchers in baseball. Last week he threw his second no-hitter in his major league career….a perfect game against the Rays. The most amazing thing about that is that Buehrle pitches to contact and he works fast. He has started 20 games this season for the Pale Hose and he is 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He has pinpoint control walking only 26 batters in 134 1/3 innings and that negates the fact that he has given up 17 homers this season. If the White Sox are going to make the playoffs they need Buerhle to get some rotation help behind him.