CHICAGO -- Miguel Gonzalez's almost two-season tenure with the White Sox came to an end shortly following his quality start during Thursday afternoon's 5-4 loss to the Twins at Target Field, as the right-hander was traded to the Rangers.
In return for the 33-year-old free agent-to-be, the White Sox acquired Minor league infielder Edward Ti'Quan Forbes. A corresponding move will be made by the White Sox prior to the start of their series against the Rays at Guaranteed Rate Field Friday night, a move which is most likely to be the activation of right-hander Reynaldo Lopez from the disabled list to start the opener.
Forbes, 21, has appeared in 130 games between Class A Advanced Down East and Class-A Hickory, batting .234 with 16 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, 56 runs scored and 25 walks this season. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Forbes has played in 90 games at third base, 20 at first base, 17 at shortstop and five as the designated hitter.
The right-handed hitting infielder opened the season with Hickory before promoted to Down East on July 5. He is a career .245 hitter with 46 doubles, nine triples, 15 home runs, 124 RBIs and 158 runs scored in 357 games as part of four seasons (2014-17) in the Texas organization after originally being selected by the Rangers in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of Columbia (Miss.) High School.
This move of Gonzalez was not a surprise, as he has been the model of consistency since returning from the disabled list on July 18. He allowed three runs over six innings Thursday, marking his fifth straight quality start and eighth quality start in his last nine. Over that recent five-start stretch, Gonzalez has yielded seven earned runs in 34 innings with 28 strikeouts, 10 walks and only one home run.
Gonzalez is 7-10 with a 4.31 ERA and 85 strikeouts over 22 starts this season. He has gone 12-18 with a 4.02 ERA in 46 appearances (45 starts) in two seasons with the White Sox and now moves to a team in contention for the second American League Wild Card spot. On Aug. 20, in the Arlington, Texas heat, Gonzalez hurled six scoreless innings during a 3-2 White Sox victory over the Rangers.
Since the start of the second half to the 2017 season, the White Sox have traded Jose Quintana, Player Page for David Robertson, Todd Frazier, Tommy Kahnle, Anthony Swarzak, Dan Jennings, Tyler Clippard and Gonzalez. The move opens up a final-month rotation spot to go with Lopez, Lucas Giolito, Carlos Rodon and James Shields. That spot figures to go to Derek Holland, who is 7-14 with a 6.16 ERA in 28 games (26 starts).