The Arizona Diamondbacks have traded pitcher Edwin Jackson to the Chicago White Sox for pitchers Dan Hudson and David Holmberg.
Jackson, who pitched a no-hitter on June 25, is 6-10 with a 5.16 ERA in 21 starts this season. He has struggled since throwing his no-hitter, going 1-4 with a 7.24 ERA in his five starts that followed.
Hudson, who was rated one of the best prospects in the White Sox system by Baseball America prior to this season, is 1-1 with a 6.32 ERA in three big league starts this year. He is 11-4 with a 3.47 ERA in 17 minor league starts, striking out 108 batters in 93 1/3 innings.
Holmberg is still a few years away from the major leagues, beginning his professional career in 2009. He is 1-1 with a 4.46 ERA in eight starts in the low minor leagues thus far in 2010.
This is a classic starting pitcher-for-starting pitcher swap – with a twist. Rather than trading prospects-for-prospects or veterans-for-veterans, the Diamondbacks are giving up a veteran for two young prospects, one of which has show promise in the minor leagues.
Time will tell as to who this transaction most benefits. If Dan Hudson can live up to his hype, then the Diamondbacks received the better end of the deal. If he does not and Edwin Jackson escapes from his inconsistency, the White Sox are the victors. If both ends falter, then this trade will go down in the annals of baseball history as just another mediocre, non-notable transaction.
