There weren’t too many detractors of Friday’s surprise trade that netted the White Sox reliever and most likely 2019 closer Alex Colome in exchange for Omar Narvaez.
That being said, there were a few Twitter-using White Sox fans sad to see the catcher go. Narvaez is just 26 (not to mention under team control for another four seasons), and with questions about the long-term future at that position, it’s understandable that losing a guy who led the team’s 2018 regulars in batting average and on-base percentage could sting.
But think back to a year ago what the two pieces of this trade were. Narvaez was the White Sox backup catcher after being acquired as a Rule 5 Draft pick in 2013. After the signing of Welington Castillo, who was at the time coming off a career year with the Baltimore Orioles, Narvaez was ticketed for the role of No. 2 catcher on a team that wasn’t expected to contend for a playoff spot. Colome was the major league saves leader, coming off a 47-save campaign for the Tampa Bay Rays. A year before that, he was an All Star and saved 37 games.
Talk about selling high.
“The opportunity to get a guy like Colome, with his track record and stuff/performance, was too good for us to pass up even at the cost of Omar,” general manager Rick Hahn said during Friday afternoon’s conference call.
A year can change a lot, but it didn’t change much in this case. Narvaez continued his quiet production, though with not much power. Colome continued being a dominant big league reliever, only seeing his save numbers plummet because he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners in May, a team that had Edwin Diaz, 2018’s major league saves leader, already installed at closer. Colome actually pitched better in 2018 than he did in 2017, his ERA improving from 3.24 to 3.04 and his K/9 shooting up from 7.8 to 9.5.
So Colome is a huge get for the South Side bullpen, a group that while young, interesting and focused on the future was previously made up of nothing but question marks. Ian Hamilton, Caleb Frare, Ryan Burr, Jose Ruiz. These guys could wind up the team’s relief corps of the future, but they have very little major league experience and will likely face to-be-expected growing pains throughout the 2019 season. Colome adds not only a terrific talent but some reliability, as well.
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Colome is only under team control for another two seasons, perhaps not the long-term answer the White Sox could use as they build toward the future. But he’s just 27 years old and will provide them with a good if not great closer for 2019 and 2020, and perhaps an extension comes before the end of the current contract. Or they can turn him into long-term pieces at either of the next two trade deadlines, when contenders are always shopping for bullpen help. And if trades of recent vintage are any indication, they’re often willing to pay steep prices for it.
"Obviously (Colome) fits in well for the short term over the course of the next two seasons,” Hahn said. “How he'll fit in '21 and beyond, it's way premature to make that assessment. Obviously we can extend him at some point during his stay here or revisit it once he hits free agency. On relievers it's tough to project out on any of them, even the best, quite how they're going to perform three or four years out into the future. We're very optimistic about what he's going to bring the for at least next two seasons. If it makes sense at that point to extend him and have him continue to be part of this growing core into '21 and beyond, we'll certainly remain open minded to that."
Meanwhile, losing Narvaez can be seen as a bit of a bummer for the White Sox if only because offensive production is hard to come by at that position, as evidenced by the fact that even the biggest hopes for the White Sox future had their struggles there in the minor leagues in 2018. Zack Collins, the 2016 first-round pick who is most prevalent on those 2020 lineup projections, batted just .234 at Double-A Birmingham last season, though his on-base percentage was spectacular at .382. And Seby Zavala, who with no other moves this offseason would be the logical choice to backup Castillo in 2019, cooled off dramatically after his midseason promotion to Triple-A Charlotte, slashing just .243/.267/.359 with two homers in 48 games there.
But even with those numbers, the White Sox haven’t soured on their young catchers, and it’d be pretty darn likely that even following Narvaez’s 2018 season that Collins would be the pick as the team’s catcher when it shifts from rebuilding mode to contention mode. Even still, the White Sox could make an addition at catcher this offseason to backup Castillo, a surprising area of need after they let Kevan Smith go on waivers back in October because they had a seeming glut of big league catchers. From Hahn’s comments, the White Sox adding another else in a trade or free-agent signing sounds likely.
Point being, Narvaez might have played himself into the long-term plans, but the catcher of the future gig still seems Collins’ to lose, should his development continue as the team expects it to. So why not sell high on Narvaez and bring in a guy who could be the closer of the future -- or at the very least be sellable enough to bring in a something of the future?
"We looked at where our roster was going long term and the skill set we wanted out of that (catcher) position and we felt that long term that we were going to have better options,” Hahn said. “We didn't set out seeking to trade Omar Narvaez. We felt that in the end the value that Colome would bring to this roster going forward would be greater.”
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