Potential White Sox moves at trade deadline

Jun 21, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Chicago White Sox designated hitter

(44) hits a single in the fifth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

As the trade deadline approaches over the next month, who will the Chicago White Sox trade?

I am sure many of you are wondering since the team is falling out of contention as we are in the final days of June.

Let’s take a look at who may get moved and why I think they could be.

Alexei Ramirez
Ramirez may be the best trade chip the White Sox have. Come the end of next month, he just may be the best bat on the market.

What would that net you? Probably a darn good return.

In my opinion, at least one Top 100 prospect and some elite-level raw talent. The best player in return should be better than Avisail Garcia, who they received last year when they dealt Jake Peavy in a three-team deal to the Boston Red Sox.

The key to all of this will be how Ramirez performs over the next month. If he continues to slide offensively, the return will be similar to the Peavy trade; if not, it should be better than Peavy.

Dayan Viciedo
It will be tough to receive anything of real value in return for him, except for a couple of lottery tickets.

Viciedo has never really developed into the player the Sox hoped, considering the bat speed he has. In my opinion, it is all between his ears, and some other team may take a chance on him.

Gordon Beckham
Beckham may be a player where the return could be decent. I don’t think he would get the Sox an elite prospect, but maybe a back end starter.

Another option would be a good bullpen arm or a serviceable position player (future – would be in minors). There will be some teams out there looking for a second baseman, and Beckham can definitely field his position.

While he doesn’t have an elite hit tool, he is at least average to above average offensively.

John Danks
Danks is an interesting case due to his contract. He would be the most complicated, unless the White Sox were interested in eating a good portion of the remaining money.

If they are not interested in eating the remaining money, the amount of teams that could take on his salary are limited. After shoulder surgery and velocity drop, it is unlikely that Danks will land you a whole lot on the trade market.

Danks could land you a decent prospect … however, don’t expect much.

Adam Dunn
Here is the player that the Sox will have a hard time moving, just because he is primarily a DH at this point. Not to mention he is a one-tool player and the fact that he is a rental. I don’t think he nets the Sox anything of value on the market but maybe a low-level prospect.

The biggest issue with all of these players is that if they trade them, they must address their needs.

Even if both Ramirez and Beckham are moved, the Sox don’t need to ask for middle infielders in return because they have a bunch of them already in their system. Starting pitcher, catcher and outfields need to be the targets.

It will be interesting to see how the next month or so plays out, because the Sox do have a lot of chips to help accelerate their rebuild.