Chicago White Sox Land First Baseman From Boston Red Sox

On Friday, the Chicago White Sox acquired Aaron Civale from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for first baseman Andrew Vaughn. The new Brewers addition had been a former first-round selection of the Sox, going third overall in the 2019 MLB Draft, picked right after Adley Rutschman and Bobby Witt Jr. This year Vaughn had put up -1.6 bWAR, batting .189 with a .218 OBP and an OPS+ of 49.

Even without the trade, the White Sox were in need of a depth option at first, and on Friday they acquired one from the Boston Red Sox in Ryan Noda.

In recent years, Noda was a Rule 5 pick of the Oakland Athletics, and made his MLB debut in 2023. He'd stick with the club the entire season, posting a .364 OBP across 128 games while also smacking 16 home runs. He finished with a 122 wRC+ over that span, and was a top-10 first baseman among those with at least 450 plate appearances (he had 495).

That OBP was top-25 among all position players with the same minimum. He was a solid player that season, with his knowledge of the strike zone doing a lot of work for him. He walked 15.6% of the time, which is how he got on base so often, even though he batted .229 and struck out 34.3% of the time.

The following season did not go quite as well, and he spent the majority of the year in the minor leagues with the Las Vegas Aviators. He was designated for assignment following the season, and claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels.

Noda would begin this season off in the Angels system, but the results continued to elude him, as he hit just .148, though he had a .364 OBP. He was still walking 20.1% of the time, while his strikeout rate was still a bit high, too, sitting at 34.4%.

About three weeks ago he was traded to the Boston Red Sox for cash, as the club was in need of a replacement at first base of their own with Triston Casas landing on the season-ending IL.

In his time in Triple-A Worcester, Noda ended up hitting .378 with a .519 OBP in 13 games, and his walk rate (22.2%) matched his strikeout rate. The one issue here was that his BABIP nearly doubled in his time in the Red Sox system, sitting at .440, up from .224, so that success may be more luck-based than some grand changes he's made.

Still, the White Sox have brought him in as a depth option, and assigned him to the Charlotte Knights. Vaughn had already been in Triple-A, with TIm Elko getting most of the playing time in his absence. Elko, 26, is batting .155 with a .222 OBP and has struck out in 38.1% of his plate appearances, though he has slugged four homers in 18 games.

The White Sox have received the least production from their first basemen in all of baseball, with their collection of Vaughn, Elko, and Bobby Dalbec accumulating a 51 wRC+ (100 is league average). While Noda may not be able to replicate his 122 from a couple of years back, he should be able to at least beat out the production that Chicago has been getting from the position through the first two and a half months.