The Eaton trade is what makes this week a winner for the White Sox. Rumors had been circling around Sale for weeks, and his departure seemed inevitable once it was clear the Sox would not be pushing for a winner in 2017. Moreover, Sale did not preclude the White Sox from a limited teardown; an attempt to fence their most valuable trade chip for major league-ready prospects to win alongside the rest of their core, possibly as soon as 2018. While maybe that approach would hold some appeal over being aggressively terrible on the major league level for at least two seasons, it would require the same ultra-precision in all their moves, something that has eluded the Sox in their median-budget bids to compete the last two years.

Under that guise, taking Yoan Moncada, and his high strikeout rate, and Michael Kopech, and his likely relief trajectory, would be worrisome and risky selections, even if their high ceilings made them good prospect value for Sale. That the Sox reportedly turned aside a package from Washington centered around the more contact-oriented Victor Robles only heightened anxiety about some of the odds these new prospects face.

But all those concerns were wiped away by second rich crop from the Eaton deal. First, it indicated a larger, more aggressive rebuild, one that would take advantage of the Sox’ position as uniquely loaded sellers. Second, the White Sox were immediately credited with pulling off a heist against the Nationals, as a package of right-handers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning was only a small step down from the offer they got from for Sale. It’s not as though the value they received for Sale was bad, it’s just that it’s hard to calibrate what would be an overpay for one of the most valuable players ever dealt in recent memory, and any suitor was hard-pressed to meet the Sox asking price. Eaton’s deal provided the first hard confirmation that the Sox will actually benefit from the seller’s market that was anticipated

Finally, the Eaton deal makes the Sale return look better. Taking chances on high-ceiling, risky prospects is welcome during a high-volume rebuild where there will be plenty of other options if one or two, or even five guys don’t reach their potential. Kopech is a fun arm to watch if you don’t need to worry about the team falling apart if he doesn’t throw 200 innings in a couple years, Moncada staying strikeout-prone is only a tragedy if he’s the only offensive upgrade coming. A full-tilt rebuild allows the Sox to stack value without worrying about immediate fits, and it’s frankly a little liberating.

This was always going to be the easiest time for accepting the reality of a rebuild; when deals are being made and new shiny prospects are being added. The grueling reality will set in, probably some time in Spring Training, that the major league product will lag at the back of the pack for a long time. But the Sox have jumped in and provided a compelling vision for the future, a bevy of young talent to be excited about even while the major league roster is used as a clearinghouse for fringe-level guys who wouldn’t get chances to play for teams that are trying to win now; which might actually wind up being fun in its own way, if you don’t look at the scoreboard.

I didn’t agree with the decision for the White Sox to sell. I still believe it will be difficult for them to surpass the talent level of their previous core, and that being willing to expand into the top-third in the league in payroll will likely be necessary during their next contention window. But this is the plan now, and there’s a lot of confidence to be taken out of how well it’s being executed.

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The long-pondered White Sox rebuild rumors have more meat to them because the franchise-altering move to trade Chris Sale is being put at the forefront of reports, and the long-pondered Sale trade has more meat to it because it’s staked into these rebuild talks rather than some ill-conceived shifting of resources for a would-be contender. They can’t trade Sale and not rebuild, to a degree, and they can’t rebuild effectively while keeping Sale, so pushing both at the same time adds a level of seriousness.

The Dodgers, Nationals and Braves have all drawn direct mention as competitors for Sale in the past few days, with almost certainly more interested, but perhaps not as stocked for a competitive bid, though the Red Sox are certainly capable of delivering the top bid if they wanted to.

Normally, a typical Sox trade discussion revolves around a need for offense, a need for major league-ready talent to avoid the weeds of their position player development system, and then some rumor of Rick Hahn holding out for a Godfather offer. It sounds like we’re only getting that final bit, for normalcy’s sake.

Ken Rosenthal:

“As for Sale, the biggest question is whether the White Sox will actually move him.

‘They’re willing but only if they totally win the deal, which won’t happen,’ a rival executive said.

Call it the Curse of Shelby Miller: Every team with a high-end starter wants to match or exceed the Braves’ return for Miller and reliever Gabe Speier — infielder Dansby Swanson, outfielder Ender Inciarte and right-hander Aaron Blair.”

More like ‘a salty rival executive,” perhaps.

As much as the Sox are perpetually in need of offensive help, a Sale departure decimates a rotation that is both already probably giving playing time to James Shields next season, and doesn’t know where their next stud is coming from, confidence in Carson Fulmer, Alec Hansen, or even Jordan Stephens and Spencer Adams, aside. If this is truly a full-scale teardown, where everyone older or further along in their service time than Carlos Rodon could be on the outs, the Sox will need more of everything, and can focus on getting the most value rather than specific help at certain positions.

The Braves are the odd team to see here, because rather than a contender looking for a super weapon, they seem to be trying to slap together a competitive team for their new ballpark, even at the possibility of shipping out pieces that were thought to be their new core going forward. Dansby Swanson is both seemingly the new face of the franchise for the Braves, and their best chip for building a package to match Sale’s value, rather than a group that has not made their major league debut.

As much as fencing a crop of guys under control for three years or more just to get a new crop of players under control for six years seems slightly pointless, the Sox both need to take some big league guys because building a package of guys at Double-A or below would take too much volume to counteract the level of uncertainty, and if the Sox can’t take their payroll above $120 million to compete, they are going to need to be in the game of aggressive pre-arbitration extensions to their youngsters anyway.

The Nationals are considered strongly in the mix, but if they insist on withholding Trea Turner, as Rosenthal is reporting, their top prospect is Victor Robles, who is very good, but also 19 until May and has not reached Double-A yet. How much risk are the Sox willing to assume in the return for the biggest trade chip in the league? Typically not very much, but this rebuild is supposed to a new paradigm for White Sox thinking.

While Sale and Jose Quintana seem to be the most sought after trade pieces, they are probably the only pieces in the core group of Adam Eaton, Jose Abreu, or even Nate Jones, that would be worth holding onto through the rebuild. Even though they are pitchers, if the Sox are going to be in the tank for two-to-four years, Sale and Quintana are better bets to be excellent on the other side of that gulf than soon-to-be 28-year-old Eaton, whose game is heavy on speed and depends on corner outfield defense for value, or Abreu, who will turn 30 in January and has seen his production decline every season. Jones is the oldest of the group, has the longest injury history and is an extreme hard-thrower with unusual mechanics.

All the fire sale trades get a lot easier to conceive of and make fair value for if they are simply moving everything, because it will shed all restrictions both for position and for future timeline. But this whole article was just stalling to avoid admitting I have no idea what is coming from the Sox.

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