32-year old lefty swinging catcher A.J. Pierzynski might be one of the most hated players outside the White Sox’ clubhouse but they are glad they have him behind the plate. Pierzynski has played in 113 games for the White Sox this season and he is 128 for 410 (.312 avg, .804 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 13 homers and 38 RBIs. Pierzynski doesn’t miss the ball much with his bat as he has only whiffed 38 times this season. He might not be able to stop opposing running games with his arm but White Sox’ pitchers like throwing the ball to him.

The White Sox have acquired 31-year old righty swinging infielder Andy Cannizaro from the Indians for a stack of cash. Cannizaro has played in 50 games in AAA-ball this season in which he was 43 for 160 (.269 avg, .698 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 1 homer and 19 RBIs. Cannizaro has also played in 14 games in his major league career and he is 2 for 9 (.222 avg, .856 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. Cannizaro will start his time with the Pale Hose in AAA but he could get a call if they need some help.

The White Sox acquired 28-year old righty swinging CF/RF Alex Rios from the Blue Jays on a straight waiver claim. The hook here is that Rios has a ton of money left on his contract but that didn’t stop the Pale Hose. Rios played in 108 games for the Blue Jays this season and he was 115 for 436 (.264 avg, .744 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 14 homers, 62 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. In six years with the Blue Jays, Rios played in 809 games in which he was 875 for 3,071 (.285 avg, .786 OPS) with 451 runs scored, 81 homers, 395 RBIs and 112 stolen bases. Rios will likely bump Scott Podsednik out of his starting job in CF.

The White Sox have traded 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Norris Hopper and 34-year old OF/1B Daryle Ward to the Nationals for a pile of cold, hard cash. Hopper played in 20 AAA games for the White Sox in which he was 25 for 76 (.329 avg, .754 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Daryle Ward played in 69 games in AAA-ball this season for the White Sox and he was 63 for 247 (.255 avg, .736 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 8 homers and 36 RBIs. Ward and Hopper didn’t have much of a future for the White Sox so why not take the cash from the Nationals?

The White Sox did well to keep 22-year old righty starting pitcher Dan Hudson when the Padres came calling with Jake Peavy. Hudson was the #24 rated prospect in the White Sox’ system coming into this season according to Baseball America but he will be moving way up that list with the way he is pitching this season. Hudson has started 20 games in A+AA ball this season and he is 11-5 with a 2.30 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. Hudson has only allowed 80 hits in 117 1/3 innings this season and he has whiffed 135 batters which shows what kind of stuff he has. Hudson also has uncanny control for a pitcher his age as he has only walked 24 batters so far this season. Look for Hudson to get a September callup by the White Sox as long as he continues to pitch well the rest of the season.

Gavin Floyd’s numbers for the season appear to be so-so this season as he has started 21 games for the White Sox in which he is 8-6 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. A closer look at Floyd’s numbers show that he got off to a slow start to the season before heating up. In April + May, Floyd started 10 games in which he was 3-5 with a 6.12 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. After a few adjustments with the pitching coach, Floyd has been dominating the last two months. In June + July, Floyd started 11 games in which he was 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Floyd is rolling right now and he shows no signs of slowing down. He is very important to the success of the White Sox so if they are going to win the division they need him to keep pitching like he is right now.