White Sox fans are still sensitive of the infamous 1997 White Flag trade where the team, only two games out of the playoffs, decided to become an aggressive Seller at the trade deadline.
The Sox have always tried to "re-tool" their club instead of rebuilding it with young talent. In the past two off-seasons, writers believed the Sox had made very good acquisitions - - - enough to be very competitive and a playoff team with their fine starting core of pitchers.
But now, 1.5 seasons in the book, the Sox continue to struggle on offense. A shaky bullpen and the lack of deep talent in the minors have gotten GM Rich Hahn putting the "for sale" out early during his long dugout session with the media. He would hear offers on anyone. Which is a complete opposite move from even last week.
So reports quickly pop up that one team has offered "a king's ransom" for Chris Sale. Of course it would. Sale would be the best pitcher on the market. A Cy Young candidate under affordable control through 2019 is a rarity in modern baseball.
MLBtraderumors reported the Rangers are “making [a] serious effort” to pry Sale loose from the White Sox, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. The Dallas Morning news also recently that the two teams were already chatting about Sale (and
Quintana, too) before it became apparent that Chicago was leaning toward
selling.
There’s “no indication” as yet whether these talks are going to go
anywhere, Sullivan notes, so it doesn’t sound as if there’s anything
building in the immediate term. Indeed, Grant adds that no “serious talks” have occurred as of this point. The key
takeaway seems to be that Texas at least plans to take a real shot at
pulling off a blockbuster.
Indications are that Chicago would have interest in Joey Gallo and Jurickson Profar
in any scenario involving Sale. We’ve heard those two names quite a bit
of late, and obviously the pair carries a lot of trade value. Still,
it’s quite likely that Texas would need to add some real talent to that
package to get the White Sox to budge.
Sale, after all, is just 27 years of age, remains under control at
cheap rates through 2019, and carries a 3.18 ERA over a league-leading
133 frames on the year. Particularly with the contracts factored in,
Sale is one of the most valuable single pitching assets in all of
baseball — with Quintana not far behind him.
If Sale and Quintana is on the market, people will be quite upset if the Cubs, who have the best prospects in the game, do not get Sale. But many believe the White Sox will never help the Cubs win a World Championship no matter the package the Cubs would offer.
The Cubs could make the White Sox young in a hurry. You could package a combination of OF Soler, OF McKinney, SS Torres and maybe C Schwarber or IN Baez to capture Sale and another young starting pitcher from the Sox. Sale is an ace pitcher that would put any playoff team over the top.
I have figured that Sale is probably worth a package of seven quality prospects. (Look at the Shelby Miller deal as a comparable.)
The Cubs have to look at it this way: if a NL team like the Nationals get Sale, then their rotation becomes dominate in a short series.
And the fact the Cubs have been looking for a controllable starting pitcher - - - as insurance against Hammels, Lackey or even Arrieta faltering in September - - - - why not go out and get the best?!
It could be all a pipe dream. The idea the White Sox will trade its best player will upset the fan base to no end. The Sox could be putting out the big names to see what other teams are willing to part - - - intelligence to make deals for other talent. But again, if the White Sox get a lion's share of the Cubs young talent - - - fans may think they got the better of the deal.
The odds are that Sale and Quintana are not going to be traded by the deadline. Other position players like Abreu, Frazier, or Eaton could be gone in a flash. But since starting pitching is so valuable today, moving aces is very hard to accomplish.
