White Sox acquired catcher Tyler Flowers, infielder Brent Lillibridge, third baseman Jon Gilmore and LHP Santos Rodriguez from the Braves for RHP Javier Vazquez and LHP Boone Logan.
Flowers became an especially hot item by following up a .288/.427/.494 season in the Carolina League with a .387/.460/.973 line and 12 homers in 75 at-bats in the Arizona Fall League. The power is for real, and he'll probably keep posting quality OBPs, though perhaps not with such nifty batting averages. Still, whether this turns out to be a good deal for the White Sox could come down to Flowers' ability to last at catcher. He's more likely to end up as a first baseman or DH. Expect him to open 2009 in Double-A.
Shortstop Brent Lillibridge was traded from the Braves to the White Sox in a six-player deal.
Lillibridge was a modest disappointment in his first year in the Braves system and a far bigger one in the second, hitting just .220/.294/.344 in Triple-A and .200/.238/.338 in 80 at-bats in the majors. He showed plenty of on-base ability previously, and that he could be an option at second, short and center field means he shouldn't have to hit all that well in order to have a career in the majors. However, he's probably not going to be a regular. The White Sox could have him battle Chris Getz and Jayson Nix for a starting job at second if they fail to find anyone better.
Third baseman Jon Gilmore was picked up from the Braves in the Javier Vazquez deal.
Gilmore, the 33rd overall selection in the 2007 draft, was a bust at low Single-A Rome at the beginning of last season, but he did bounce back following a demotion. He ended up hitting .186/.202/.196 in 102 at-bats for Rome and .337/.365/.473 in 258 at-bats for SS Single-A Danville. He just turned 20 in August and he probably has 25-homer potential, so he is a prospect. Still, he doesn't currently project as a starting third baseman in the majors.
Left-hander Santos Rodriguez was traded from the Braves to the White Sox in a six-player deal.
Rodriguez is probably the No. 2 talent in the deal for the White Sox, but there's a lot of things that could go wrong before he's ready for the majors. The 6-foot-5, 180-pound left-hander had a 2.79 ERA and a 45/13 K/BB ratio in 29 innings out of the pen for the Rookie GCL Braves last season. As he fills out and gets stronger, he should be an option as a starting pitcher.