Zack Greinke On White Sox Trade Radar

I was wondering if a White Sox cap would be thrown into this discussion. According to Jon Heyman, the Zack Greinke sweepstakes are heating up and the Chicago White Sox are now in the mix.

Greinke is in the final year of a 4 year $38M contract that he initially signed with the Royals and is likely to pull a pretty penny this offseason in the free agent market. The Brewers aren’t solid candidates to retain his services and are looking to get a little something in return. Various other teams are interested in the right hander, each of which is more likely to complete a trade than the White Sox, as I see it.

When the Atlanta Braves initially expressed interest in Greinke the rumor mill circulated stories of the Brewers demanding uber prospect Julio Teheran in return. If the desired package requires a youngster of that caliber, the White Sox don’t really have anything to offer.

Though Jared Mitchell has shown signs of life following a down year adjusting from an ankle injury, there are no high end prospects in the White Sox system that can be flipped for a top tier name. To put it bluntly, the White Sox farm system was ranked 30th by nearly every publication that cared to provide rankings entering 2012 and the team has graduated quite a few players to the major leagues this season.

I’d love to have Greinke in the rotation. He’s an ace at his best and a solid addition to the rotation at worst, but I have a hard time seeing that get done. The White Sox could certainly use help, especially with Gavin Floyd’s health now in question, but if Kenny Williams pulls something off, it will be a true magic trick.

Some may have some concern that Greinke would not thrive in the Chicago media market due to the social anxiety disorder that he has dealt with in the past. When Zack went through the last round of trade rumors as he was headed out of Kansas City, it was revealed that his contract had a 15 team no-trade clause. So far as I can tell, the full list is not divulged anywhere, but I would guess that any market that is perceived as a threat to his mental health would be included. If he feels that he couldn’t play in Chicago, he just won’t come. Or at least that’s my guess.