#tradebait

I usually do a run down of how the past week went. I won’t now. I will discuss something more important. The Sox currently sit 10 games back in the division and 7 in the wild card. Every team that hovers around this record is beginning to sell with the trade deadline coming in 11 days. For example, today, the Mariners traded Mike Montgomery and Jordan Pries (AAA) to the Cubs for Dan Vogelbach and Paul Blackburn (AA). I don’t really know whom you would call the winner here, as this looks to be a pretty even trade at the moment. Seeing how the Mariners pulled a major prospect in Vogelbach, the White Sox have some major trade bait that could benefit them in the future. Am I recommending that Rick Hahn puts together an entire rebuild? No, I am not. That’s also not reasonable given the talent on this roster and how the front office has managed the team the past 10 years. I hear rumors that the Sox could be sellers at the deadline. It’s a sellers market, so the returns would be exponential. Below, I will list the potential trade pieces the Sox could give up at the deadline for some big name prospects. I will list them in likeliness that I think they could happen.

David Robertson

I think that this one makes a lot of sense. He has struggled with his control this season and has been shelled a couple times, which accounts for his 4.14 ERA. I don’t look at ERA as much for relievers because of how few innings they pitch compared to starters. The biggest contributors to this inflated number, however, are the game in Kansas City where Robin left D-Rob out there for too long and Monday night when he gave up a comfortable 3-0 lead in Seattle. Every contending team could use bullpen help. The Cubs could still use more, so could the Blue Jays and the Red Sox to just name a few. He is under contract through 2018, but I don’t believe this could be a factor with the lack of solid bullpen arms on the market. In addition, the Sox drafted Zach Burdi and Alec Hansen in the 1st and 2nd round. If they make the big leagues (Burdi seems more MLB ready), these two hard throwers would contribute from the bullpen. I don’t see a need in rushing them, especially if this team is still not contending in 10 days, but if Robertson gets traded, the Sox could have Duke or Jennings (UGH) fill in the role of setup man and move Nate Jones to the closer for the remainder of the season. Carson Fulmer could sometimes see some work in the 7th inning if he continues throwing the way he has, which has already far exceeded the performances of Tyler Danish, Tommy Kahnle, Michael Ynoa, Jacob Turner, and Matt Purke.

Melky Cabrera

This one hurts because Melky’s my favorite player on the team. He’s easily the most consistent bat we have and doesn’t strike out. He is also a fun guy to have in the clubhouse. Anyways, he’s hitting .298/.346/.457 with only 37 K’s. He puts the ball in play and has productive ABs. However, he has only hit above the .300 mark 3 times in his 12 year career, and this season could come as the 4th. He could slug in both the NL and AL as a DH or corner OF. I’d hate to see him leave, but he is 31. Selling high isn’t a bad go if Hahn and Williams choose to do so.

Jose Quintana

Side note: The Atlanta Braves acquired Dansby Swanson (2015 #1 pick), Aaron Blair, and Ender Inciarte for Shelby Miller and Gabe Speier. This was a great trade for the Braves and could go down as the worst acquisition in MLB history because Shelby Miller was recently sent down the AAA after an abysmal performance in the MLB this year. Q has been more consistent than Sale has this year and earned himself his 1st All-Star bid. He’s also twice the pitcher that Miller is, and the Sox would be selling high on him. He is one of the most underrated and efficient pitchers in the league, but for some reason, the Sox can’t manage to score many runs for the guy. This will be one of the only times he is in the spotlight, so getting rid of him for, most likely, a massive haul would be perfect for the future of this team.

Todd Frazier

This one I don’t see happening as much because Frazier has hit a lot of homers thus far, but his other categories have been subpar at best. He has come around a bit more as of late, but selling low on him doesn’t make much sense to me. On top of that, it is extremely hard to find a 3rd baseman that can hit the long ball like he can. Plus, from a morale standpoint for the front office, they wouldn’t want to concede on a trade in which they gave up three of the organization’s top prospects for a guy who can only hit home runs. I say keep him, but obviously with the power that this guy brings to the table (28 home runs), it’s at least worth the thought of dangling him out there to see the offers you would get in return.

Chris Sale’s name has floated around the MLB trade rumors, too. This has been the case for the past few seasons, but I don’t think this will happen. Sale’s the cornerstone of this franchise. Also, he is on an extremely team-friendly contract ($6.5 million/year), so business-wise, it makes zero sense to get rid of him. He wants to be in Chicago. If the front office has some sense, he will be one of the last people they think of dealing, unless the trade for him is irresistible. Since there is such a lack of starting pitching on the market before the deadline, the only thing I’d trade Sale for would be the entire Texas Ranger farm system.

I’m going to leave the list of Sox trade bait to four. I like the potential idea of being sellers at the deadline. Think logically. After starting 23-10 to open the season, the Sox have only won 23 of the last 61 games. I estimate that they’ll probably end the season around 78-84.

They haven’t done much improving since Robin has been at the helm. In 2012, they collapsed, and ever since then, they’ve underperformed each season. If the front office was smart, the most feasible response would have been firing Robin after last season. He doesn’t get the guys up before games, and he can never get anything extra out of them. However, that didn’t happen. In 2015 and 2016 the rosters had a couple holes but looked moderate to decent. The performances of these two teams have shown otherwise. Kenny should have owned up to his mistake of hiring someone with absolutely no MLB managing experience, but that didn’t happen. The problem with keeping Ventura through his contract was this: it wasted another fantastic season in the prime of the core players on your team (Adam Eaton, Chris Sale, Jose Abreu, Todd Frazier, Melky Cabrera, Jose Quintana, etc.).