The Chicago White Sox acquired right-handed pitcher Tommy Kahnle from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for right-handed pitcher Yency Almonte, the team announced.
Kahnle was traded just four days after being designated for assignment by the Rockies due to a ton of moves to prepair for the Rule 5 Draft in December.
The 26-year-old started the 2015 season strong and built up a name for himself in the back of the bullpen. In just a blink of an eye, Kahnle went down in flames and was never able to regain his composure at the Big League level.
Since he struggled down the stretch in Colorado, Kahnle was demoted to Triple-A in late August. The righty was expected to catch on with a different team quickly, which he did as the White Sox made the move to get Kahnle.
The reliever tossed 33.1 innings over 36 appearances and picked up two saves. Kahnle allowed 8.4 hits per nine innings, but impressed with 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings. To reiterate, Kahnle struck out 39 batters over 33.1 innings, which is outstanding.
Kahnle's biggest struggle is his command, but he was effective for most of 2015 and got many more ground ball outs than fly outs. He also compiled a good amount of strikeouts to help increase the resume. On paper, the gamble for Kahnle seems to have a chance to pay off during the 2016 season.
Almonte, who will be heading from Chicago to Colorado, had a 3.41 ERA over 137.1 innings of work between Low-A Kannapolis and High-A Winston-Salem during the 2015 season.
The 21-year-old was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 17th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Over four Minor League Baseball seasons, Almonte is 16-16 with a 4.70 ERA, 1.308 WHIP and a 2.43 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 239.1 innings pitched.
The move to acquire the reliever pushed the White Sox's 40-man roster to 37 players.