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According to the Chicago White Sox Twitter feed, the White Sox have traded for division rival Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins. Minnesota will receive left-handed pitcher Pedro Hernandez and shortstop Eduardo Escobar in the deal:

Sox acquire Liriano for Escobar and Pedro Hernandez

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 29, 2012

Liriano is 3-10 with a 5.31 ERA in 2012 on a porous 42-58 Twins club. He has recorded 109 strikeouts on the season to go along with an opponents’ batting average of .239.

Chicago gave up Pedro Hernandez and Eduardo Escobar in the deal. Hernandez has an ERA of 18.00 in four innings pitched in a White Sox uniform this season.

Escobar has played in 35 games in 2012, posting a .195 batting average with two RBI.

Chicago was in desperate need of adding to its starting-rotation depth before the 2012 MLB trade deadline. Zach Greinke would have been a great addition, but as far as value with this trade, the White Sox didn’t give up too much to acquire the former highly touted Twins prospect.

Liriano has produced an up-and-down career filled with the highest of highs (12-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 2006) and the lowest of lows (5-13 with a 5.80 ERA in 2009).

Despite struggling for the majority of his career, aside from two quality seasons, Liriano has failed to live up to expectations. At age 28, the White Sox taking a chance on Liriano makes complete sense.

Not only do the White Sox bolster their starting pitching depth by giving up little in return, but they also grab a guy with great potential if he can control the strike zone.

We have seen it before with major-league players; a change of scenery can do a player good. Maybe this change is one that earns the White Sox a division title.

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Deven Marrero will have a hard time living up to his first-round expectations despite his fall to the No. 24 pick. He’s not the only one though, there are two others that won’t live up to the expectations of a first-round pick. 

We’ll start with the aforementioned Marrero.

Deven Marrero, SS, Arizona State

Boston selected Marrero with the No. 24 pick. He is a defensive-first shortstop, which should come as no surprise, because most are.

However, his bat will hold him back at the major league level. You can find defensive-first shortstops much later in the draft so if he does end up being that type of player, he will not live up to first-round expectations. 

Once thought of as a top pick, Marrero will fall well short of expectations.

Gavin Cecchini, SS, Barbe HS

It may seem like I’m picking on shortstops, but most struggle to hit the ball. With that being said, Gavin Cecchini will provide quality defense but his bat will hold him back.

Is that worth the 12th pick in the draft? 

Maybe, and the Mets must have thought so too. However, you can find shortstops who are capable of playing defensive-first baseball in free agency right now.

If the organization plans on moving him to another position, he better be able to hit the ball consistently. He’s too much of a risk with that high of a pick.

James Ramsey, OF, Florida State

Work ethic can only get one so far.

Florida State’s James Ramsey has a great work ethic, but his skills don’t translate to a power-hitting corner outfielder.

He would hit for average, which is fine, but his tools say he could have been drafted later. This was a reach for St. Louis at No. 23, but they are an organization that tends to have positive things happen no matter the circumstance.

But will he live up to first-round potential? I don’t see it happening. St. Louis could have gotten him later in the draft. 

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After everything that has happened in Arlington, Texas this year, it seems like the Texas Rangers are a team of destiny. It will continue against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday when the Rangers take a 2-1 series lead.

After the Cardinals were looking to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the 2011 World Series, Jason Motte, who has been lights out in the postseason, allowed his first earned run in the playoffs during the ninth inning of Game 2. Texas went on to pick up their first victory of the season.

It’s been that kind of year for the Rangers.

Whether it’s going up against the hottest team in the American League (Tampa Bay Rays) or defeating Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers, Texas has found ways to get the job done.

Whatever jams the franchise, whether it be stadium safety restrictions, player’s health issues or recovering from a World Series defeat, Texas has been able to continue their great stretch of play and overcome their struggles.

They won the National League way on Thursday night – playing small ball, stealing bases, moving up on throws and hitting sacrifice flies. It isn’t pretty baseball, but that’s how you have to beat a Tony La Russa club on the road.

Now they will head back to Arlington to play the American League way. Bringing the designated hitter will only help a team that plays with one consistently in the regular season.

Both teams are equally matched. I believe that the Cardinals will begin to slow down starting in tonight’s game. Remember, this is a team that had to erase several games in the standings just to catch the Atlanta Braves. They are tired. It seems to be showing.

Ron Washington and the Rangers have proved that persistence, and a constant effort, will bring success. After tonight’s game, Texas will be two games away from winning what they lost last year—the World Series.

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Success in baseball generally comes from solid pitching. This is especially the case for the Pirates this season.

When the Pirates hold opponents to four runs or fewer they are 7-2. When they give up five runs or more they are 1-9.The Pirates team ERA is 4.24, which is good for 19th in Major League Baseball.

They aren’t striking many batters out (118) and are walking too many (73).

These statistics may not matter if the defense was one of good quality. Too bad the Pirates are nowhere near “good quality.”  They have the third most errors in the MLB (17). Their fielding percentage is sitting around 98 percent, which is 28th in baseball.

Kevin Correia has been the best and most consistent Pirates pitchers. He is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA.

Paul Maholm is 0-3 with a 4.33 ERA in a year that he desperately needs to show more consistency. This isn’t the start he was looking for. Charlie Morton was great in his first three starts but struggled in his last start against the Florida Marlins. He is 2-1 with a 3.33 ERA, but has more walks (15) than strikeouts (12).

Ross Ohlendorf is injured but didn’t show too much anyway. James McDonald has struggled from start number one. He is 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA. He has already given up 21 earned runs in four starts.

The bullpen has been a downfall for the most part. Only Joel Hanrahan, Chris Resop and Daniel McCutchen have been consistent. Michael Crotta hasn’t been too bad, either.

The Pirates need to do a better job at holding teams down early in games. Once a young team gets down early they tend to press and be more aggressive. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, and lately it has been the latter.

If the Pirates want get to back to .500, the pitching must show up during this upcoming home stand. They play the Nationals and the Giants for a combined six games at PNC Park starting Friday.

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When people around the Pittsburgh area heard that Andrew McCutchen was going to be batting third in the Pirates batting order, some people were skeptical. He is by far the Pirates fastest player and possibly the fastest man in Major League Baseball.

Wouldn’t a guy like this be better if he were batting leadoff?

The best and most talented hitter should be batting third, in my mind. McCutchen batted .286 with 16 home runs and 56 RBI last year. Expect those numbers to rise to 25 HR and 100 RBI this season, barring injury.

If the lineup changes for some reason and McCutchen moves to leadoff spot, then his overall HR and RBI totals will drop slightly. But if Jose Tabata and Neil Walker can consistently get on base, expect McCutchen to have an outstanding season batting third.

He is on the brink of being a household name, if he isn’t already. Watching him fly around the bases on TV doesn’t compare to watching him live at the ballpark. It is special watching him chase down fly balls, but he is dynamic when he hits the ball into the gap. That is the most exciting part to McCutchen’s game.

He just missed out on making the NL All-Star team last season, as he struggled in the weeks leading up to it. Evan Meek got the vote and McCutchen was left off. Not this season—McCutchen will be a surefire All-Star and will be able to showcase his talents on the national stage.

His 5’10”, 175-pound frame doesn’t scream power, but he has loads of it. He can spray it to all parts of the field. McCutchen could potentially be a 30-HR and 30-SB type of player this season. He stole 33 bases a year ago in his first full season as a Pirate.

If he does hit 30 HR and steal 30 bases this year, who knows what he will have in store for next season. He could hit 40 and steal 40 before his career is over.

The Pirates organization hasn’t seen a guy of this caliber since Barry Bonds.

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