Sox deal for pitcher! (No, not that one)

While the Johan Santana trade talks near some resolution -- the Twins seem certain to make a decision one way or another before the start of spring training -- the Sox made a deal for a relief pitcher, David Aardsma, who split last season between the White Sox and Triple-A.

To get the righthander, who also has pitched for the Cubs and Giants, the Sox sent minor-league pitchers Willy Mota and Miguel Socolovich to Chicago.

Aardsma, 26, was added to the 40-man major-league roster, giving the Sox 39 players.

Aardsma opened the season with Chicago and was 2-0, 1.31 with 26 strikeouts in 20.2 innings in his first 14 appearances through May 12. Aardsma led all A.L. relievers with 23 strikeouts in April. Overall, he was 2-1, 6.40 with 36 strikeouts in 32.1 innings in his 25 relief appearances with the White Sox. The righthander spent the second half of 2007 at Charlotte and was 3-2, 4.33 with 15 saves in 18 games.

His biggest claim to fame to date? His name appears first in the Baseball Encyclopedia, ahead of Hank Aaron.

Aardsma is 6-1 with a 5.16 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 96.0 innings in 81 career major league relief appearances with the Giants, Cubs, and White Sox. He pitched in 11 games in his major league debut with San Francisco in 2004 and was 3-0, 4.08 in 45 appearances over four stints with the Chicago Cubs in 2006. He held the opposition to a .214 batting average in his season with the Cubs. Aardsma was selected by the Giants in the first round of the 2003 First Year Player Draft.

Mota was 5-3, 2.60 with one save in 17 relief appearances at Single-A Lowell in 2007, his first season as a pitcher after four years playing the outfield in the Red Sox organization. Socolovich split the year between two Single-A teams, going 2-2, 6.65 in 11 games at Greenville and 5-4, 3.56 in 14 games/13 starts at Lowell. He has been in the Boston system for four seasons.

DAVID AARDSMA—2007 AND MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER STATS

Team W-L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER BB SO

2007—White Sox 2-1 6.40 25 0 0 32.1 39 24 23 17 36

2007—Charlotte 3-2 4.33 18 0 15 35.1 26 18 17 11 45

ML Career 6-1 5.16 81 0 0 96.0 100 57 55 55 90