White Sox trade Jake Burger to Miami, receive prospect Jake Eder in return

The 2017 first-rounder is headed to the Marlins in a Jake-for-Jake swap

The White Sox will be searching for a new starting second baseman in the coming days, as former first-round pick Jake Burger has been dealt to the Miami Marlins in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Jake Eder.

It’s not easy to see Burger go, as the jovial slugger’s storybook comeback from two Achilles injuries and affable demeanor in a clubhouse with a distinct lack of joy have made him a fan favorite, as has his unexpected breakout for 25 homers and 52 RBIs this season, good for second and third on the White Sox, respectively. Burger also has five years of team-controlled contracts remaining and won’t be a free agent until after the 2028 season.

That may be why the return for Burger appears, at first glance, surprisingly high in the form of Jake Eder, a fourth-round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2020 who FanGraphs has rated as the No. 54 prospect in MLB. Baseball Prospectus and MLB Pipeline are slightly less bullish, but both rated him among Miami’s top four prospects.

Eder is a left-handed pitcher who was tracking to be one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, working to a 1.77 ERA with an elite 34% strikeout rate in 15 Double-A starts in 2021 before blowing out and requiring Tommy John surgery. His return to action this season was delayed by a broken foot, and he’s since posted a 4.12 ERA with a still-excellent 28% K-rate but an inflated 12.8% walk rate between Single-A and Double-A. Eder will likely report to Birmingham once the trade is official, and he should be a candidate to see big league innings as early as next year if his performance checks out. Eder’s fastball isn’t anything special, sitting in the low- to mid-90s, but he reportedly has good carry and can miss bats in the strike zone. His primary out-pitch is a wipeout slider, with a change up that was supposedly developing well before his surgery in 2021, giving him the upside of a solid No. 2 or 3 starter in the majors.

It’s a worthwhile haul for the powerful but one-dimensional Burger. While this is speculative, it should also clear a spot on the big league roster for Lenyn Sosa to finally get an extended and consistent audition in the majors, for a shot at establishing himself in advance of the 2024 season.

Burger should slide right into a starting role in Miami’s infield, which has gotten replacement-level (or worse) production from Yuli Gurriel and Jean Segura at the corners. We wish Jake all the best in Miami and hope Eder’s eventual contribution to the White Sox will make it worth missing his personality in the dugout.