The White Sox have finally seen enough of 30-year old righty swinging CF Alex Rios to bench him. Rios has played in 19 games in July and he is 12 for 72 (.167 avg, .398 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 97 games for the White Sox so far this year and he is 75 for 360 (.208 avg, .555 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 6 homers, 23 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. It’s shocking to me that the White Sox pulled the plug on Rios with the idea of turning his position over to 27-year old lefty hitting outfielder Alejandro De Aza. De Aza came into this season playing in 86 games in his first three years in the majors in which he was 47 for 194 (.242 avg, .611 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 0 homers, 13 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. De Aza looked good last night in his debut with the White Sox as he was 1 for 4 with a homer, run scored and 2 RBIs. I look for Rios to get his job back eventually, but it might take a while.

The White Sox have sent 32-year old righty swinging outfielder Michael Restovich to the Diamondbacks. No word yet on what the White Sox got in return but I can’t imagine it being more than a bucket of batting practice balls. Restovich played in 26 games in AAA-ball for the Pale Hose this year and he was 22 for 96 (.229 avg, .646 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers and 8 RBIs. This is not much of a loss for the White Sox.

The Chicago White Sox have acquired 33-year old righty righty reliever Jason Frasor and 24-year old righty starting pitcher Zach Stewart from the Blue Jays for 27-year old righty starting pitcher Edwin Jackson and 29-year old 3B/OF Mark Teahan. Frasor has pitched in 44 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays this year and he is 2-1 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has now pitched in 455 games (0 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 24-28 with 36 saves, a 3.69 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Frasor should help out the White Sox bullpen right away. Zach Stewart came into this season as the Blue Jays’ #6 prospect according to Baseball America. Stewart has started 3 games for the Blue Jays this year and he was 0-1 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP. He has allowed 26 hits in his first 16 2/3 innings in the majors, so he didn’t miss many bats. Stewart has also pitched in 16 games (all starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 5-5 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Stewart will likely be the first starting pitcher called up if the White Sox need one later this year.

Edwin Jackson pitched in 19 games (all starts) for the White Sox this year and he was 7-7 with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He pitched in 30 games (all starts) in parts of two years with the White Sox and he was 11-9 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Mark Teahan played in 51 games for the White Sox this year and he was 24 for 118 (.203 avg, .582 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers and 11 RBIs. Teahan played in 128 games in parts of two years with the Pale Hose and he was 84 for 351 (.239 avg, .666 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 7 homers, 36 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. This was a good deal for the White Sox as they dumped salary while picking up two decent pitchers.

The Chicago White Sox have six starting pitchers and three good lefty relievers, so they have the ammo to make a big trade. They pretty much match up perfect with the St. Louis Cardinals who are interested in righty starting pitcher Edwin Jackson and lefty reliever Matt Thornton. The White Sox have an interest in CF Colby Rasmus and 3B/OF Allen Craig. There is a deal to be made there as CF Alex Rios and 3B Brent Morel have both been awful with the bat so far this year. The White Sox could also throw in Mark Teahan in the deal or they could move him to another team. I think the White Sox are going to be adding and subtracting from the major league roster this week and I think it will help the team as they appear stuck in a rut.

32-year old lefty starting pitcher Mark Buehrle keeps rolling along for the Chicago White Sox. Buehrle has started 19 games for the White Sox so far this year and he is 7-5 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has now pitched in 378 games (353 starts) in his 12 years with the Pale Hose and he is 155-115 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Buehrle is currently #8 in White Sox’ history in wins with 155. He is also #7 in games pitched (378), #4 in games started (353), #7 in innings pitched (2,399 1/3) and he’s #4 in strikeouts (1,355) in White Sox’ history. Pitchers just don’t come more consistent than Mark Buehrle.