Second baseman Nick Madrigal followed this year’s trade deadline proceedings the same way most baseball fans do: watching the scroll on his TV. Except, unlike fans, he was on the lookout for his name.
On July 30, Madrigal was at the White Sox’ complex in Glendale, Arizona, recovering from surgery to his right hamstring. That afternoon, he was sitting on the couch with his girlfriend watching the trade updates on TV.
A few minutes before news that he had been traded to the other side of town came up on the screen, Madrigal got a phone call from Sox general manager Rick Hahn.