With the MLB Trade Deadline approaching in just a few days, the White Sox will have some decisions to make, as there could be plenty of players on the move. The stove has been heating up, as a few position players have been moved over the last few days, setting the tone for the market.
Across major league baseball, there are plenty of teams that could be looking to compete, as in the American league, 6 teams are 4.5 games or less back from a Wild Card slot. While some of those teams are floating around .500, they could still be interested in adding players for a late run.
The same can be said about the National League, as there are five teams within five games of a Wild Card spot, giving them extra incentive to be a buyer at the deadline if they want to make a push for the playoffs.
While all these teams won’t be buyers, there will be plenty more buyers than sellers at the deadline, which can very much help the White Sox, as less competition in the marketplace will allow them to get better prospects in any potential trade.
One of the most recent trades was the Rockies sending Ryan McMahon to the Yankees for two pitching prospects. Those players now slot in at #5 and #18 on the Rockies Top-30 prospect list on MLB Pipeline.
The other major trade was the Arizona Diamondbacks sending pending free agent Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners for two pitching prospects. Those pitching prospects now rank #11 and #16 on the Diamondbacks Top-30 list on MLB pipeline.
While the White Sox won’t likely be asking for much pitching in return, we can get an idea of what kind of value the White Sox would get if they were looking to trade some of the bats, mainly in the outfield.
While hitting prospects seem to be valued at a much higher price these days, it seems that teams are not afraid to trade from players in their top-20/10. If the White Sox move on from Adrian Houser, Mike Tauchman, and any other players, expect a return similar to these, which can really boost the depth in the farm system.
Additionally, you could see the White Sox target guys like Miguel Vargas, former top prospects who are blocked on good teams and have struggled early in their MLB career. The White Sox have the ability to give them playing time, especially in the outfield to see what they can do.
While there haven’t been any elite prospects traded yet, and there likely won’t be any traded, expect the White Sox to have a very solid haul at the deadline in a sellers market. Stay tuned as the White Sox have the ability to completely retool the roster, potentially supplementing the solid young players already on the team.
