9:51 pm: The White Sox are sending their remaining $ 243,300 international bonus space to the Pirates in the deal, tweets MLB.com’s Adam Berry. International space should typically be sent in chunks of $ 250K, but can trade the rest of their entire pool as one block if they have less than $ 250K left. That is what happened in this case.
That pool space will be added to the Pirates’ signing pool 2019-2020. While the international signing period typically runs from July 2 in the one year until June 15 the following, the signing period 2019-20 was extended to October, while the upcoming signing period was brought back in January. Those changes, just like the abbreviated Draft for 2020, were agreed upon by the league and union as owners sought means to compensate for part of their revenue loss from the pandemic-changing season.
8:58 o’clock: The White Sox are set to get fast center fielder Jarrod Dyson of the Pirates, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter). The White Sox is expected to send international bonus pool space to Pittsburgh to complete the deal, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
Dyson, 36, entered into a one-year, $ 2MM deal with the Pirates this winter and is still owed $ 333K from his prorated $ 720K salary. That makes him an affordable late-inning defensive upgrade and pinch-running option for the ChiSox, who are currently tied with the Indians for second place in AL Central and only half a game behind the division-leading Twins .
Dyson is a disastrous start to the record, hitting .157 / .218 / .157 in a small sample of 57 record appearances, but he is a world-class defender and elite baserunner. Dyson dates from 2012 and is sixth in the Majors in set bases (234), and his 84.7 percent success rate is remarkably efficient. He is also eighth among MLB fielders with +79 defensive runs saved in that time, although he has played thousands of innings less on the field than all but one (Juan Lagares) for him because of his status as a part-time player.
The White Sox have a full outdoor field with them Eloy Jimenez in left, Luis Robert in center and Nomar Mazara in right. They also have fellow speedster Adam Engel at hand to back in all three positions, but between Jimenez and Mazara, the corners could both stand to use a defensive upgrade in late, close games. Dyson’s left-hander also complements Engel’s straight bat, allowing manager Rick Renteria to optimize his late inning-outfield options based on peloton matchups.
As for the Pirates, they will be adding some extra international funds in exchange for the last month as part of Dyson’s contract. Trading him also opens up extra reps for the Bucs to take a look at shortstop Cole Tucker in the field – an experiment that the team investigated under the new front office / coaching regime. Dyson was a free agent at the end of the season anyway and will clearly not get a qualifying offer, so buying money for even a relatively minimal return is perfect for Pittsburgh.
