In a trade involving right-handed pitchers who both might benefit from a change of scenery, the Giants on Thursday acquired Kade McClure from the Chicago White Sox for Gregory Santos.
Santos, 23, was one of the hardest throwers in the organization and appeared in the majors each of the past two seasons, but never lived up to expectations because of struggles with consistency and command, Santos, who once ranked as high as the No. 7 prospect in the Giants organization, was designated for assignment Monday to make room on the 40-man roster for free agent Sean Manaea.
McClure, who turns 27 during spring training, is more polished than Santos, but appeared to have stalled in the White Sox organization after seeing his prospect status rise rapidly after being picked in the sixth round of the 2017 draft.
The right-hander was named the White Sox organization’s pitcher of the year by MLB.com following the 2021 season, reaching Triple-A for the first time.
McClure entered 2022 rated as the White Sox’s No. 20 prospect and spent all of last season at Triple-A, primarily as a reliever and was 4-4 with a 4.97 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 87 innings. McClure had a 30 percent ground ball rate last season and as well as a 24.8 percent strikeout rate and 7.2 percent walk rate.
After going 20-4 during his sophomore and junior seasons at the University of Louisville, McClure put himself on the prospect map by posting a 0.82 ERA over 10 appearances in his pro debut. He had a 3.02 ERA two months into the 2018 season before he was injured during a game and underwent knee surgery to repair ligament damage and a dislocated kneecap.
McClure has a 4.03 ERA over 108 games and 59 starts in five minor league seasons with the White Sox.
The Giants acquired Santos from the Red Sox for Eduardo Nunez in 2017. He shuttled between the majors and Triple-A the past two season, mostly on the taxi squad. He appeared in just 5⅔ innings with the Giants, walking five and allowing seven earned runs.
His prospect status peaked in 2019, according to Baseball America, which ranked him the Giants’ No. 7 prospect at the time and said he “may have the highest upside of any pitcher currently in the system.”
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