White Sox acquire third baseman Conor Gillaspie from San Francisco in exchange for Pitcher Jeff Soptic; designate Lars Anderson for assignment

The Chicago White Sox have acquired third baseman Conor Gillaspie from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for minor-league right-hander Jeff Soptic.  To make room for Gillaspie on the 40-man roster, the White Sox designated infielder Lars Anderson for assignment.

Gillaspie, 25, spent the majority of the 2012 season with Class AAA Fresno, hitting .281 (116-413) with 14 home runs and 49 RBI in 108 games.  The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder, who bats left-handed, also appeared in six games with the Giants last season, going 3-20 (.150) with two RBI.

Gillaspie is a career .287 (543-1,894) hitter with 37 homers, 259 RBI and a .358 on-base percentage in 514 games over five minor-league seasons, all in the Giants organization.  He owns a .205 average (9-44) with one home run and four RBI in 29 major-league games over parts of three seasons with San Francisco (2008, 2011-12).

Gillaspie was selected by the Giants with a sandwich pick (37th overall) in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Wichita State University.  He made his major-league debut on June 9, 2008 vs. Arizona, just 96 days following his draft date. 

Gillaspie became the first member of the 2008 draft class to reach the major leagues and was the quickest player in Giants history to reach the majors, surpassing pitcher Jeff Robinson's mark of 306 days.

Soptic, 21, went 3-2 with a 5.40 ERA (26 ER/43.1 IP) and 36 strikeouts in 27 relief appearances with Class A Kannapolis in 2012.  He originally was selected by the White Sox in the third round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

Anderson was claimed off waivers by the White Sox from Arizona on February 1, 2013.