Jake Eder was heading out to shag fly balls when he heard his name on television.
“I turned around and saw that and then got a bunch of calls from the Marlins, from the White Sox, telling me what was going on,” Eder said during a video conference Wednesday.
The left-handed minor-league pitcher learned he had been traded from the Miami Marlins organization to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for infielder Jake Burger on Aug. 1.
“The immediate reaction, I was just kind of fired up to join a new team and just pick up where I left off there,” Eder said.
Eder was one of six pitchers the Sox acquired in moves by the Aug. 1 trade deadline. He joined right-hander Nick Nastrini and lefty Ky Bush at Double-A Birmingham.
Nastrini, right-hander Jordan Leasure and veteran outfielder Trayce Thompson were acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly on July 28. Leasure is at Triple-A Charlotte.
Bush and switch-hitting catcher Edgar Quero were the returns for the deal that sent pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Los Angeles Angels on July 26. Quero also plays for Birmingham.
Right-hander Juan Carela, who joined the organization from the New York Yankees in exchange for Keynan Middleton, is at Class A Winston-Salem while right-hander Luis Patiño, who the Sox got from Tampa Bay in exchange for cash considerations, is with Charlotte.
Quero (No. 3), Eder (No. 5), Nastrini (No. 6) and Bush (No. 9) are in the top 10 on the Sox prospect list rankings by MLB.com.
“Jake Eder’s my roommate, Ky Bush and I have been talking a whole bunch (and) Quero, we’ve been talking a bunch,” Nastrini said in a video conference call Thursday. “We’ve all kind of jelled and bonded pretty quickly. It’s definitely good to be around those guys.
“It’s good to see how good they are because there’s a little bit of a competition factor in there, too. You’re like, ‘All right, they did this, I’ve got to do this.’ It’s been good to be around those guys and it’s definitely good to see that there’s a core group of young players in the minor-league system that can kind of progress through together and help bring a World Series to the White Sox. That’s what we all want to do.”
Nastrini, 23, is 1-0 with a 6.97 ERA and 14 strikeouts in his first two starts with the Barons. According to MLB.com, he was the No. 9 prospect in the Dodgers organization at the time of the trade.
“When I can throw my fastball, my changeup, and kind of put it whatever I want, that’s when I know the day’s going to be special,” he said. “You’ve just kind of got to pick up and get going when you get to a new organization, make friends as quickly as possible, communicate with the coaching staff, with the manager. I’ve had nothing but good things to say about the transition.”
Eder, 24, allowed two runs in two innings in his first start with the Barons on Aug. 6. According to MLB.com, he was the No. 4 prospect in the Marlins organization at the time of the trade.
“I basically pitch off my fastball so when I’m commanding that I can throw breaking balls and changeups off that and they’ll tunnel as well,” he said.
Eder made his season debut on June 4 after missing all of 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
“I think adversity introduced you to yourself, so one, being away from the game for that long and not being able to compete and keeping that mentality there every day was something I grew into and practiced daily,” Eder said. “And I learned a lot about my body, talked to a lot of new people throughout the rehab process and learned about my arm, learned about my mechanics more and just learned about better ways to prepare my body going into the season.”
Bush, 23, was 0-1 with an 8.64 ERA after his first two starts with the Barons. He was ranked the No. 3 prospect in the Angels organization by MLB.com at the time of the trade.
“I try not to waste any pitches,” Bush said during a video conference call on Aug. 4. “The fastball has been my best pitch. The curveball has come a long way in the last year, been really happy with that. It’s just fine-tuning and being able to have four weapons.
“I feel like I was in a good spot with the Angels and being traded, it’s always good to be traded for big leaguers. It’s cool to see knowing I’m in a pretty good spot with the White Sox.”
Jesse Scholtens pitches well in loss to Brewers
Sox starter Jesse Scholtens pitched well, but ran into trouble in the seventh inning of a 3-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday in front of 29,851 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Scholtens allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 6 1/3 innings. All three runs came in the seventh as the Sox saw a 2-0 lead slip away.
Tyrone Taylor tied the score with a 2-run double against Scholtens. Taylor scored on a two-out single by William Contreras against reliever Bryan Shaw.
“Felt good, (catcher Yasmani Grandal) and I had a pretty good game plan going,” Scholtens said. ” Unfortunately in that last inning, (I) didn’t execute. That’s kind of all that stands out right now.”
Yoán Moncada had two hits, including a solo home run, in the loss.
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