Gage Workman has changed teams but not cities after a second trade between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox over the past five months. The rookie infielder's new home, Guaranteed Rate Field, is roughly 11 miles from his previous headquarters of Wrigley Field. But more importantly, he's already seen the field with the rebuilding crosstown rival, which didn't happen often enough with the National League Central leaders.
Workman failed to carve out a consistent role for the Cubs, though to no fault of his own. The club's manager, Craig Counsell, acknowledged that the 25-year-old was dealt a bad hand, ostensibly suggesting the move to the White Sox could fix it.
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Craig Counsell's optimistic outlook on Gage Workman should make White Sox fans curious
The current state of the Cubs' depth chart and their organizational aspirations made playing time hard to come by for Workman. Meanwhile, being a Rule 5 draft pick forced them to devote a spot on the Major League roster to him. Otherwise, he'd return to his original franchise, the Detroit Tigers --Counsell was evidently cognizant of the situation.
"[Workman] was in a tough spot," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said (h/t ESPN News Services). "I think Rule 5 picks are always in a tough spot, especially on this team, on kind of the expectations of this team. In a lot of ways you could say he did not get the appropriate opportunity. We couldn't give him that opportunity."
Counsell's seemingly taking accountability for not giving Workman the reps a developing young talent like him should see. But the latter is a third baseman/shortstop, leaving the skipper's hands all but tied.
What was Counsell supposed to do? Bench two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner Dansby Swanson or the Cubs' top prospect, Matt Shaw (who's currently with Triple-A Iowa)? Workman was given some chances to fill in for the latter following his demotion before being designated for assignment on Apr. 23.
Workman's time with the Cubs didn't pan out, though Counsell's comments are a vote of confidence that he can shine if given a fair shake. The White Sox can offer him that, already utilizing him off the bench in their recent 10-3 win over the Athletics.