And who said the Diamondback were done? Less than a week after they gave up a pair of top prospects in Adam Eaton and Tyler Skaggs they have now decided to ship top 3rd base prospect Matt Davidson to the Chicago White Sox for closer Addison Reed. Yes, you read that right, the Diamondbacks are sending a consensus top 5 prospect on their farm to the White Sox for a reliever who has an ERA over 4 for his career. Reed came up with the Sox in 2011, and took over the closer duties in 2012. He has accumulated 69 saves over the last two years in that role, and he is thought of as a good but not great closer. I think this view of him is about right. He has not had a major league ERA of under 3.68 in any of his three years, and he has only been able to accumulate a WAR of 1.3 which for a good closer should be a little higher. He is still only 24 and has four more years of team control, but he will get more expensive in arbitration as there will be a good chance that he’s over 100 saves by this time next year. Matt Davidson, on the other hand, is a strong third baseman who should become a fixture, along with Adam Eaton and Jose Abreu, in the White Sox lineup for years to come. He has a good bat with a decent amount of power, and he has also displayed good OBP and Slugging % throughout his hears in the minors. What’s even better for the White Sox is that he’s ready to contribute now. After a September call up last year, he should be their starting 3B out of spring training next year. I don’t like this trade at all for the Diamondbacks. This trade is nearing the Fister deal in lopsidedness. Now don’t get me wrong, the Diamondbacks need a reliable closer, and Reed can be controlled until 2018, but trading a top prospect like Davidson for relief help is never a good idea. The D’Backs could have easily spent on a free agent closer such as Fernando Rodney and although he would cost more this year, once Reed hits arbitration for a year or two, that free agent contract to a guy like Rodney will look like a steal. They will get a cheap closer in 2014, then have to pay more and more for him in the next 3 years. The White Sox were able to trade a closer who didn’t mean much on a rebuilding team for a third base fixture moving forward, and they were the clear winners of this deal. Hopefully the D’Backs pull something spectacular this year, because they are really hurting their future with the loss of some of their top prospects.