What Youkilis Does for the White Sox

Kevin Youkilis was traded to the White Sox along with cash considerations (5.6 million) for Zack Stewart and Brent Lillibridge. While it is sad to see a player that fans endeared and a player that worked so hard to leave, Lillibridge will likely have a better career in Boston. White Sox fans have to realize that Youkilis is a great addition to the team and the White Sox didn't have to give up a whole lot in order to get him. Whether or not you like or liked Kevin Youkilis before this trade, you have to realize that he is an upgrade from the current third basemen on the White Sox. Let's take a look at what the current third basemen have done and what even a terrible Youkilis will do for the White Sox.

Let's start with the weakest stat, batting average. Kevin Youkilis is batting a mere .225 this season which doesn't sound impressive especially compared to his career average of .286, but none of the three current players that could play third base for the White Sox even have a batting average over .200. Orlando Hudson at .167, Brent Morel at .195, and Eduardo Escobar at .190.

Onto the stat that Kevin Youkilis is best known for, on base percentage. Youkilis only at .311 which also seems low compared to a .388 career OBP. Once again, Youkilis is much better than all three White Sox third basemen. Hudson with .247, Morel at .225, and Escobar at .299. Youkilis will get on base more often and is probably the perfect fit for the 2 hole problem the White Sox have.

Finally, perhaps the biggest problem for White Sox current third basemen, OPS. The White Sox third basemen went into the game today with an OPS of .466, the worst in Major League Baseball. That OPS is worse than Youkilis' OPS of .670 this season by far.

So if you are thinking that the White Sox got the bad end of the deal because Youkilis hasn't been good this season, he is still an upgrade and it didn't cost the White Sox very much. It's a good gamble for Kenny Williams to make and if it pays off, he will be praised.

Weekly Links

Weekly links continues, but it is a little early this week because I figured that I would include some articles on the draft which starts on Monday. And in other news, Gordon Beckham is hotter than ever so I think he has a permanent home as the Weekly Links picture. 

• Another week, another recap of the AL Central. Except this one is only covering half the week. That's beside the point though. It's a great recap from Aerys Sports. 
• One of the bigger storylines this week is whether Morel will get his job when he comes back. I read two good articles about it. Here and here.
• Another week of Chris Sale being awesome, another great article about why he's been such a good starting pitcher.
• A great article was written about Ventura and why he should get some respect for what he's done with the Sox so far this season. 
• Last but not least, the draft. The White Sox website put out an article about the draft and why the Sox are hopeful for what they might get with the 13th pick.