The Chicago White Sox can’t trade Chris Sale
By Erik Brown
To me, even the notion of trading star pitcher Chris Sale is ludicrous. I understand the Chicago White Sox must look at every potential way of improving the team, but I cannot envision a scenario where moving Sale would make the White Sox better, even now or within the next 5-8 years.
The reasons that so many believe Sale would be a great trade chip are that he checks off three main boxes, as noted by Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report, 1) he is young, 2) he is really, really, HISTORICALLY good, 3) he is controllable for the next three years.
It is for those same reasons that the Southsiders should hold onto the lanky lefty. Sale and Cuban slugging first baseman Jose Abreu are two of the biggest bargains in baseball, and they are two of the best cornerstones any franchise could wish to have under control for the foreseeable future.
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That dynamic duo should be who the team builds around, the other pieces are there, Jose Quintana, Adam Eaton, Avisail Garcia, David Robertson and others (admittedly not many others unfortunately) but the results are not. Just because the victories are not piling up as quickly as his strikeouts, does not mean Sale should be put on the trading block.
Even with a monster offer from someone such as the Los Angeles Dodgers including the top left-handed prospect in baseball Julio Urias and potential Alexei Ramirez or Conor Gillaspie replacement Corey Seager, who is ranked one spot ahead of Urias at number 5 overall, and more, the team should hold tight to the six-foot six southpaw.
Not only is Sale the top pitcher in the American League, he ranks among the elite of the elite of all pitchers on the planet and was just named American League Pitcher of the Month.
While scrolling through twitter, I saw something that likened a potential trade of Sale to the recent trade of Brandon Saad by the Chicago Blackhawks. There were two things that came to mind to dispute that: first, the Blackhawks are a dynasty with three titles in the last six seasons. The White Sox have not made the playoffs in that span; second, Sale is more Jonathon Toews/Patrick Kane than he is Saad.
Nothing against Saad as he is one heckuva hockey player, but he is not a superstar in the likes of Toews/Kane/Sale. Sale is the best hope for the Sox to also be able to lure other players into playing for the Pale Hose.
Players want to play with other good players. If Sale got traded, it would be really difficult to sell both the players (current and potentially future) and the fans of the positive direction of the organization, even with a massive prospect haul.
Look at what the Pittsburgh Pirates did for so long before their resurgence. Once a player got good (not even Sale-level good, but Quintana-level good), they would ship him off for prospects.
Players such as Jose Bautista (here), Aramis Ramirez (here), and Jason Bay (here) were once part of the Pirates future, until they weren’t and were shipped off for prospects that never panned out. The White Sox have already started their postseason drought that is likely to extend this year, lets not have that streak reach Pirates marks of futility, and shipping off Sale would more than likely extend that streak longer than it will take for him to help end it.
Do you think the club should trade or keep the tall lefty? Why or why not? Let us know below!
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