White Sox: Should Rick Hahn Have Acquired More Bats?
By Matt Manetti
The White Sox loaded up on pitching through their trades of Adam Eaton and Chris Sale. Should Rick Hahn have tried acquiring more bats in those trades?
The Chicago White Sox made their intentions known trading Adam Eaton and Chris Sale for a slew of prospects. Not only did trading Sale get the number one prospect in baseball, Yoan Moncada but they also acquired several talented pitchers. The biggest criticism I heard about these trades is they needed another bat.
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Aside from Moncada, the White Sox also acquired Luis Alexander Basabe in their trade for Sale. Basabe could develop into a power-hitting outfielder this team would need. Pair him with Moncada, and it seems they have some power in their farm system. However, their strength clearly lies with pitching. Seven of their top 10 prospects are pitchers. But that might not be a bad thing.
Pitching is definitely at a premium in the major leagues. The Yankees showed that when they traded Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. That one trade propelled New York into having one of the best farm systems in baseball. The White Sox followed suit and were instantly able to upgrade their system by trading Sale to Boston.
Just because most of their top 10 are pitchers doesn’t mean they will hold onto all of them. They could easily flip one or two of those guys for another bat. Because of that, it doesn’t necessarily mean they needed to get another bat in one of the two trades. When you’re rebuilding you want to get as much talent as possible for the guys you’re trading.
There’s no doubt pitching is important, and most teams are willing to give up a lot for it. Clearly this team is in a position to contend. But that won’t happen right away. The White Sox won’t be serious contenders for probably two or three years. But when that day comes, this is going to be a really exciting team to watch. And Hahn may not be done.