The Chicago White Sox will probably be sellers this trade deadline and they have some really interesting capital to deal as several pitchers have been raising their value as of late.
A few weeks ago, we took an early look at what the Chicago White Sox might accomplish at the trade deadline. At the time, it was murky as the White Sox still had a chance at minimizing the gap between first place and themselves. Since that time, the White Sox have dropped from third to fourth and are eight games behind the Minnesota Twins. However, with 67 games left to play, anything can happen.
Although the White Sox are coming off a fantastic weekend of baseball, taking two of three from MLB’s hottest team the Atlanta Braves, they are still expected to be sellers at the trade deadline. In fact, general manager Rick Hahn’s job may be on the line to make this a meaningful trade deadline.
Who Is Available?
White Sox Offense
Offensively, the White Sox do not have much to offer. It would be incredibly hard to believe that they would deal CF Luis Robert, Jr. as he is by far their best player as he is second in home runs in the AL.
SS Tim Anderson is marred in the worst season of his career. Slashing .227/.264/.530 with 0 home runs and 14 RBI’s, calling them career lows would be a huge understatement. However, a buyer could bet that this year is an anomaly, and he will return to his league leadership as a .300 hitting leadoff man.
3B/DH Jake Burger has shown serious firepower in 76 games this year. His batting average sits at .222 (better than Mets 1B Pete Alonso), but he is slugging .532 with an OPS of .809. His slugging is verified by his 21 home runs and 44 RBI’s. As he is young, 27, it would be tough to give him away, but the right price could be out there.
DH Eloy Jimenez is consistently injured and is consistently mentioned as one of the top raw talents of the league. He already had a couple of trips to the IL this year and was taken out of the game over the weekend, expected to miss several days with a new groin injury. The 26-year-old is having a decent year slashing .269/.313/.463. His upside is tremendous and would be enticing to several teams.
White Sox Pitching
The White Sox have much more to offer on the pitching side. Several players that started off the season extremely poorly have now rebounded which should gain the attention of buyers. Most importantly, those players will now command a much higher value in the trade market.
RHP Lucas Giolito seemed to be identified as an off-season cut target when he started the season with an April 4.15 ERA and only dropped it down to 4.08 in May. But June saw a renaissance. He had an ERA of 2.32 in June and so far in July, his two starts have contributed a 2.77 ERA. Since that June 6 start, Giolito has held batters to a .182 batting average. He is a free agent at the end of the season, so it could be a good time to capitalize on his resurgence. According to MLB.com, the Dodgers, Orioles, and Red Sox could be a good fit.
RHP Lance Lynn has had a similar start to the season. In April, he had an 8.00 ERA. In May, he was dramatically got better, but had an ERA of 5.97. Unlike Giolito, Lynn hasn’t rebounded and still holds a 6.06 ERA. Where he has been impressive in is the strikeout metric. He has a 16 and an 11-strikeout game which leads him to the eighth spot in strikeouts in MLB. According to MLB.com, the Phillies, Red Sox and Dodgers could be a good fit. Lynn’s contract ends this season with a $1 million buyout in 2024.
RHP Joe Kelly has also had a series of ups and downs this season. He gave up zero runs between April 30 and May 25. Following that, gave up 11 runs in his next seven starts. Then, gave up zero runs in his next six outings. Then gave up four in his next two. The flamethrower goes through stretches where he is unhittable and then stretches where he just can’t find it.
Who Could Go?
Plenty of teams in MLB are on the cusp of making the playoffs and are probably in the buying mode. Pitching-starved teams are the most likely candidates for the White Sox. According to MLB.com, the most likely fits for the White Sox could be:
- The Blue Jays have a shallow rotation (Lynn/Giolito) and are reportedly looking for a right-handed bat (Burger/Jimenez).
- The Orioles need pitching (Lynn/Giolito/Kelly).
- The Rays could use a hedge against injuries in their rotation (Lynn/Giolito).
- It is always difficult to trade within the division, but Shane Bieber just went down for Cleveland, and they could use a replacement in the rotation.
- The Boston Red Sox have lost many starters in their rotation and are still in Wild Card contention.
- The Rangers bullpen (Kelly) has been horrible this year, and the starting rotation needs some depth (Lynn/Giolito) during one of their best seasons in a very long time.
- The Milwaukee bullpen needs middle relief help (Kelly) and they could use some pop at third base (Burger).
- The Cincinatti Reds are loaded with prospects and need experienced starters and relief pitchers. The Reds might be more than ideal.
- Like the Rangers, the Diamondbacks find themselves in playoff contention and they could use some relievers (Kelly). Like the Reds, the Diamondbacks have a very deep Minor League roster.
- The Dodgers need help with pitching. Any pitching. They just need pitching (Lynn/Giolito/Kelly).
