The Chicago Cubs traded rookie infielder Gage Workman to the crosstown rival White Sox for cash considerations Saturday, three days after they designated him for assignment.

The Cubs selected Workman from the Tigers in the December Rule 5 Draft, meaning he had to stay on Chicago’s 26-man roster all season or be offered back to Detroit. The 25-year-old impressed in spring training and earned a Cubs Opening Day roster spot, but he struggled after that, hitting just 3-for-14 with only one extra-base hit (a double), two RBI and six strikeouts.

Workman’s real problems, though, came on defense, as he had two miscues at third base during Tuesday’s wild 11-10 win over the Dodgers – his final game with the Cubs.

Workman misplayed Shohei Ohtani’s ground ball to start the game, and the Dodgers wound up scoring three runs with two outs. That play was scored an error at the time but later was changed to a single. Workman also couldn’t cleanly field a ground ball with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, leading to a run, and the Dodgers scored four more times to turn a 7-5 Cubs lead into a 10-7 deficit.

Workman was DFA’d the next day.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell expressed well wishes for Workman after the trade was announced.

“I think Gage was in a tough spot,” Counsell said before Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field. “I think Rule 5 picks are always in a tough spot, especially on this team, on the expectations of this team. In a lot of ways, you could say he did not get the appropriate opportunity. We just couldn’t give him that opportunity.

“You just have to learn from every experience,” Counsell added. “And that’s what I kind of told him, is like, just because it wasn’t a good experience doesn’t mean it’s not going to help you in your next experience. And I think overall, this was a good experience for him, but when you’re delivering that message, it’s bad news, but if he uses this experience in the right way, it’s going to make him a better baseball player, and he’s going to be a major leaguer. And I was very confident that he was going to be a major leaguer after that conversation, and wish him the best.

“He’s a good kid, and he’s got talent.”

It didn’t take Workman long to make his White Sox debut, as he entered their 10-3 road win over the Athletics in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement at third base.

The Cubs signed seven-year MLB veteran Nicky Lopez on Wednesday to fill Workman’s roster spot. Lopez was in spring camp with the Cubs on a non-roster invitee deal, but he was one of the final cuts last month before the team departed for the MLB Tokyo Series against the Dodgers.

Lopez hasn’t yet played in a game, with Jon Berti manning third base thus far for Chicago.