Well, it’s pretty safe to say that every team looking to add a starting pitcher by the Aug. 1 trade deadline is going to be eyeing the Chicago White Sox starting rotation.
The latest trade rumor surrounds the surprising Cincinnati Reds, who entered the All-Star break as the first-place team in the NL Central Division. According to MLB insider Jon Morosi, the Reds have talked to the White Sox about their starting pitchers who are presumably going to be traded within the next 2.5 weeks.
While it seems unlikely that the White Sox will trade Dylan Cease this summer, the Reds have made it known that they’re interested in one of Chicago’s starting pitchers. Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn, who can both hit free agency after the 2023 season, have already been linked to other teams in trade rumors in the past couple of weeks.
You can now add the Reds to the list.
Earlier this week, Jon Heyman reported that Cease, along with Luis Robert Jr., Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn, were pretty much untouchable in trade talks. Cease, 27, is still under team control through the 2025 season.
Without a doubt, Giolito is going to be receiving the most attention out of any White Sox player who will realistically get dealt leading up to this year’s trade deadline. The 28-year-old starting pitcher ended his first half with a 3.45 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 112.1 innings. The righty has struck out 117 batters, while walking 34 through his first 19 starts of the season.
Giolito has certainly raised his trade value following a down 2022 season. In his last 14 starts for the White Sox this year, Giolito has posted a 3.03 ERA in 84.1 innings, striking out 89 batters during that stretch.
Earlier this week Morosi also reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers have had specific interest in Giolito.
Interestingly enough, the White Sox begin the second half of the season against the Atlanta Braves and fans immediately noticed that Giolito was not listed as one of the three starting pitchers for the weekend series, raising questions whether a trade is imminent.
Meanwhile, Lynn is doing his best to raise his trade value as long as he’s still pitching for the White Sox. The veteran right-hander had his best start of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 6, when Lynn gave up one hit, struck out 11 and walked one in seven shutout innings.
Although Lynn has struggled with the home run ball this year, there are signs that he might actually be a solid addition to a team, especially because he’ll be out of Guaranteed Rate Field.
It’s always tricky trying to discuss trade proposals and it gets more difficult when you start looking at prospects. As always, I think it’s better to lower expectations when it comes to your team trading away good players because you’d be surprised when looking back at returns from prior trades.
That being said, if you get a few teams in a bidding war over your guy, then all of a sudden the return could be bigger than you anticipated. But again, although Giolito has been great and is one of the better options in the trade market this year, it’s important to remind yourself that a team is only trading for 2-3 months of his services.
