White Sox Trade Grade: Odd Man Out Derek Hill Sent to Phillies for Two Prospects
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The Chicago White Sox struck a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday afternoon.
Ahead of their evening series finale with the Braves, the organization announced that Derek Hill has been moved to the NL squad. The trade comes alongside the return of Everson Pereira from the IL. The outfielder had been dealing with a right pec strain and has not appeared in a game since April 28.
Nevertheless, with his return on the horizon over the last week-plus, it became clear that the White Sox would have a tough decision to make. Youngsters like Sam Antonacci, Jacob Gonzalez, and Tristan Peters have all been outperforming expectations. The recent signing of Randal Grichuk also seemed to put Hill's future into question.
To be sure, Hill put together a solid showing for the Sox this season. While he may have only hit .213, he was consistently providing high-level defense and base-running. It's why Venable used him in a total of 50 games this season, with his last outing coming as recently as yesterday against the Braves. Hill had an RBI and stolen bag in the Sox' tight 2-1 victory.
Hill will now join a Phillies team that has been much better as of late. They are 7-3 in their last ten games and now sit second in the NL East with a 37-31 record. The expectation is that Hill will play a similar utility role with the win-now franchise.
As for the return of Pereira, the Sox are hoping he can pick up right where he left off. The young outfielder had finally started to look like the highly-touted prospect he once was in New York and Tampa. He's had a .250 batting average and .763 OPS over his first 18 games with the Sox, hitting three home runs in the process. Pereira's power should be a welcome sight in the lineup, especially with Munetaka Murakami still sidelined due to his hamstring strain.
Who Did the White Sox Get in the Hill Trade?
In exchange for Derek Hill and $250,000 in international Pool money, the White Sox received two minor leaguers: Dylan Campbell and José Colemaneras.
The former is a 23-year-old outfielder who has spent the entirety of his 2026 season in Double-A. Over his 55 games, he's slashed .216/.281/.412 with a .693 OPS. MLB Pipeline had Campbell 25th in the Phillies' prospect rankings last season, praising him most for his defensive abilities.
Campbell started his MLB journey with the Dodgers after being selected in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. His best ball in the minors so far came in 2024 during his high-A experience with Los Angeles' affiliate. He made tons of contact and stole a total of 42 bases. Alas, replicating those results has been a challenge over the last couple of years, but the well-roundedness of his game is hard to ignore.
The latter player, José Colmenares, is a 24-year-old infielder who is still in High-A ball. With that said, this has been his best season yet, slashing .278/.403/.413 with a .816 OPS. He's also had a really strong 16.6 percent walk rate over his 36 outings. For what it's worth, he is currently listed as being on the seven-day IL. Colmenares has spent the majority of his time this season at shortstop, though he has experience at both second and third base.
Grade: B+
All things considered, this feels like a pretty decent return for the White Sox. As productive as Hill has been at times this season, he was quickly becoming the odd man out. Would it have been nice to keep him around as some insurance? Sure, but the Sox are right to prioritize their young talent. At the end of the day, being able to walk away with two prospects (one of which was in the Phillies' Top 30) for a guy they originally claimed off waivers before being re-signed on a cheap deal feels like a win.
It's also nice to see Hill go somewhere that will continue to put him in a position to win games. He should be of use in Philadelphia.
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Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
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