- AP Photo/David Zalubowski
- Matt Davidson, who the White Sox traded for yesterday, played 31 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season.
The White Sox and Cubs, who together finished 66 games under .500 last season, have taken different rehabilitative approaches thus far this winter, the Sox adding prospects and the Cubs opting for players in the prime of mediocrity.
The Sox yesterday traded 24-year-old closer Addison Reed to Arizona for 22-year-old third-baseman Matt Davidson. In the minors, where Davidson mostly has played, the ball has jumped off his bat and out of his glove. Reed saved 40 games for the Sox last season but his ERA was 3.79.
The south-siders this winter have also signed highly touted Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu, 26, and traded for speedy outfielder Adam Eaton, 25. In July they traded for outfielder Avisail Garcia, 22, who then hit .304 for the Sox in 42 games.
The Cubs, meanwhile, realizing they finished only eight games out of second-to-last, are hoping new veterans can vault them out of the basement. They’ve traded for Justin Ruggiano, a 31-year-old outfielder who hit .222 last season, and George Kottaras, a 30-year-old catcher who hit .180. Earlier this week they signed southpaw reliever Wesley Wright, who turns 29 next month, and who’s 10-15 in his career with a 4.37 ERA.