MLB: Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox

It sure seems like Chris Sale is about to be traded

The Winter Meetings are in full swing over in National Harbor, Md., and a lot of very smart and well-sourced reporters turned the Hot Stove temperature up to max Monday night with reports that the White Sox are moving closer to dealing Chris Sale.

The idea of using the media to further an agenda is part of the game, but regardless of refutations or confirmations, Monday’s reports are the first legitimate signs of the White Sox moving toward a potential deal. And even if Rick Hahn & Co. leave Maryland without a deal in place, it seems increasingly likely that the market to pay Sale’s exorbitant price is building, and the busy winter many predicted for the Sox at the beginning of the offseason will turn up being more true than not.

An argument has been presented in this space on more than one occasion against the idea of rebuilding — if you can’t build competence around this core of talent, when do you expect it to happen? — but as it seems an inevitability at this point, one has to wonder, once the Sale shoe drops, how far they wind up going. It’d be tough to imagine the White Sox pulling the trigger on their best trade chip and not going the distance with impending free agents Melky Cabrera and Todd Frazier, as well as aggressively shopping Abreu, Adam Eaton, and maybe Jose Quintana.

 

Lead Photo Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Related Articles

2 comments on “It sure seems like Chris Sale is about to be traded”

Manchershaw Engineer

A lot of reports out there are saying the White Sox are pressing to deal Sale over the fear that his mechanics and frame will lead to injury and prevent them from getting value back in a deal. And since they’re in a position to sell and in all likelihood not going to do the things necessary to compete, getting a deal done sooner comes with less risk.

If they deal Sale and replace him with Giolito in the rotation, they’ll have a good chunk of money to address needs if they do intend to try and compete. This is still a good, if not deep, rotation when headed by Quintana, Rodon, and Giolito.

Marty34

The Sox are in a tough spot because Sale should get you a deal built around a Turner, Moncada, or Bregman, but it seems they have lost some leverage as teams are saying ok keep Sale and put your rebuilding off another year.

Leave a comment

Use your Baseball Prospectus username