Chicago White Sox send prospect Luis Basabe to Giants
By Nick Stevens
The San Francisco Giants have acquired outfield prospect Luis Basabe from the Chicago White Sox.
The San Francisco Giants have a new project to work on after acquiring Chicago White Sox prospect outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe for cash considerations on Sunday afternoon.
Basabe, ranked as the 11th-best prospect in the Chicago White Sox farm system, was recently optioned to Chicago’s alternate training site after a suffering a foot bruise earlier in camp. He will now report to San Francisco’s alternate training site.
OFFICIAL: The #SFGiants have acquired OF Luis Basabe from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for cash considerations. Basabe will report to the Alternate Training Site. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Giants placed RHP Jordan Humphreys on the Restricted List.
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 9, 2020
Considered an extra-thrown in by many in the 2016 trade that sent Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox, Basabe had remained an intriguing outfield option for the White Sox as he moved up the organizational ladder, even climbing into the team’s Top 10 list of prospects on many lists.
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Unfortunately, injuries have kept Basabe from reaching his full potential up to this point. There was the torn meniscus after first arriving to the organization, a broken bone in his hand that delayed his 2019 season, and three separate stints on the injured list due to a leg issue, also happening throughout last season.
Despite the injuries, Basabe appeared in 69 games at the Double-A level last year, logging 16 extra-base hits and stealing nine bases. The switch-hitter is a career .248 hitter throughout his minor league career, but his skill set is certainly one to be excited about.
When healthy Basabe is a potential 20/20 guy in the major leagues, having hit 15 home runs in 2018 between High-A and Double-A and showcasing his power potential over the course of his career.
Basabe’s speed is also quite the weapon. The 23-year-old has 40 career triples and stolen 116 bases over parts of seven minor league seasons. It’s that speed, along with a plus arm in the outfield, that gives Basabe the ability to play all three outfield positions with confidence.
If Luis Basabe can finally stay healthy, the San Francisco Giants have another intriguing outfield piece to add to the mix. Outfield prospects Heliot Ramos, Hunter Bishop, and Luis Matos (a cousin of Luis Basabe) are already providing Giants fan with a bit of optimism about the future of the major league outfielder (along with Mike Yastrzemski, the current league-leader in Wins Above Replacement now more than two weeks into the season).
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Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out for Luis Basabe with the Chicago White Sox, but the young outfielder can now start fresh with a San Francisco Giants team looking to infuse their roster with younger talent.