Feb. 04--The Chicago White Sox cashed in belatedly on the August trade of Gordon Beckham and officially released outfielder Dayan Viciedo in separate moves Wednesday afternoon.
The Sox announced they acquired minor league right-handed pitcher Yency Almonte from the Los Angeles Angels as the player to be named later in the Beckham trade over the summer. Beckham, whom the Angels did not tender a contract to this offseason, returned to the Sox on a one-year, $2 million contract last week.
Almonte, 20, was 2-6 with a 5.91 ERA over 11 starts and 45 2/3 innings pitched last year between the Angels rookie and A-level clubs. Over three seasons in the Angels organization, he is 5-9 with a 6.44 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 27 appearances.
The Sox also officially released Viciedo one week after designating him for assignment to make room for Beckham. The club had hoped to find a trade partner for Viciedo, but it had struggled to do so for most of the offseason and instead requested waivers for his unconditional release.
Viciedo, 25, hit .254 with 66 home runs and 211 RBIs over 483 career games with the Sox in five major league seasons.
"He's still young and he still has a world of talent and a great deal of power that we've all seen on display over a number of years," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said last week of Viciedo. "It's not going to surprise any of us in the least if he goes on to have a very successful career elsewhere. I think it just got to the point with our organization where we decided to go a different direction."
