The White Sox made many deals just prior to the 2024 trade deadline, indicating that they were quite busy at that time. There were no noteworthy transactions aside from the major three-team deal that sent Michael Kopech to the Dodgers, Tommy Pham and Erick Fedde to the Cardinals, and Miguel Vargas to the White Sox.
But one of the exchanges that went unnoticed just reached a startling end. The White Sox shipped a struggling Eloy Jimenez to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for bullpen pitcher Trey McGough in another transaction on deadline day. Due of buyouts and team options for the 2025 season, the White Sox wanted to release Eloy’s funds at the time of the transfer.
The White Sox acquired an interesting prospect in spite of those alternatives and Eloy’s difficulties. Trey McGough, a left-handed pitcher who was dominating in 2024, was that prospect.
With a 2.08 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched for the Orioles’ AAA side, McGough’s hitters were only hitting.185 against him.
With the Charlotte Knights, McGough maintained that record with a 1.98 ERA over 27 innings pitched, striking out 33 hitters on his way to a stellar 1.06 WHIP. It was anticipated going into the winter that McGough would contend for a major league bullpen place.
However, McGough was assigned to AAA Charlotte after failing to make the team out of Spring Training. At this time, it was anticipated that he would be promoted to the major leagues after a few strong weeks or whenever the White Sox made a move in the “pen.”
After giving up 15 runs in 15 innings thrown, McGough had a poor start to his AAA career. Despite striking out 13 batters, he was struggling to start the season since it was obvious that hitters liked him. It wasn’t time to raise the alarms just yet because the season was still young.
But it was revealed a few weeks ago that McGough had decided to retire. This is quite unexpected because he had an incredible 2024 season and was extremely near to joining the top leagues. He had plenty of time to get back on track and pitch like he did in 2024, even if his 2025 season started off to a rough start.
The Eloy Jimenez trade deadline transaction is finally complete, even if there hasn’t been an explanation for McGough’s retirement and it’s unlikely that we will ever hear one. Eloy is presently playing for Tampa Bay’s AAA afliate and is no longer in the Baltimore Orioles organization.
McGough’s retirement is disappointing since I thought he ought to have been called up late in the previous season. We hope McGough succeeds in all of his future pursuits outside of baseball.
