Texas Rangers move quickly at winter meetings to trade Nomar Mazara to Chicago White Sox
The Texas Rangers traded outfielder Nomar Mazara to the Chicago White Sox in a late-night deal Tuesday to close out the second day of the winter meetings.
Sources confirmed the trade around 11 p.m. CST, and the Rangers announced the deal shortly after midnight.
Chicago is sending Class A center fielder Steele Walker, the White Sox’s No. 8 prospect who is from Prosper and played in college at Oklahoma. He was selected 46th overall in the 2018 MLB draft.
“We wish Nomar the best with the White Sox,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “It is a little bittersweet having known him as long as we have. We’re excited to welcome Steele Walker to the organization. He is a really good hitter, with both power and an advanced approach, and has an aggressive, winning on-field makeup.”
The trade frees up a logjam of left-handed-hitting corner outfielders but ends the run of one of the most ballyhooed prospects in Rangers history after four MLB seasons.
Mazara, 24, will head to the White Sox with two years of arbitration remaining while the Rangers gain more roster flexibility for the 2020 season. Joey Gallo is expected to move to right field, Willie Calhoun will play in left, and Shin-Soo Choo will be the designated hitter.
The deal appears to have come together quickly. The Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals were first linked to Mazara in the late morning at the Manchester Grand Hyatt before the White Sox were linked to him.
A source said around dinnertime that the Rangers expected to deal Mazara this week, perhaps as early as Wednesday.
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 11:52 PM.
