White Sox: Exercising Patience Paying Dividends for Rick Hahn
By Matt Manetti
Rick Hahn was patient when fielding trades for Jose Quintana and Chris Sale. And he needs to continue exercising patience as he continues to rebuild the White Sox roster.
Rick Hahn was not in an easy spot at the end of the 2016 season. His star pitcher [Chris Sale] became unhinged and apparently said Hahn’s boss, Executive Vice President Ken Williams, wasn’t allowed in the clubhouse. That same pitcher cut up jerseys because he thought the front office was placing business ahead of winning.
It would’ve been easy for the Chicago White Sox senior vice president and general manager to begin looking at trading Sale immediately. The second incident happened ahead of the trade deadline. But he didn’t. Instead of rushing into a trade to get the bad apple out of town he was patient. He opted to keep him and move him in the offseason when things calmed down. He struck when the time was right.
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At the start of 2017 we kept hearing that Jose Quintana shouldn’t be in a White Sox uniform to start opening day. Fans and the media shared this idea. Again, Hahn exercised patience and waited. The heat started to turn up when Quintana got off to a terrible start. Through the first two months of the season he was 2-7 with a 5.60 ERA. Again, Hahn was taking heat because he blew his chance to trade Quintana and hurt his value.
It would have been easy for him to just try to get something for him. Again he waited. And by waiting he was able to secure top prospect [Eloy Jimenez] and a promising right hander named Dylan Cease from the Chicago Cubs.
Hahn has shown that patience pays dividends. At least for him. Instead of seeking out trades he has really waited for them to come to him. I remember hearing on the radio that he inquired about making a trade with the Cubs after they got blown out by the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 9. He said it was just a coincidence but who knows if that’s true or not. Hindsight is 20-20 but if he would’ve taken a lesser deal before the season, the White Sox wouldn’t have Jimenez.
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And we’ll see Hahn employ that same strategy this offseason. At the end of the day he doesn’t have to trade anyone. But he’ll bide his time, be open and most importantly patient. The White Sox have probably been sent several proposals for Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia. But we’ve seen Hahn’s not going to just jump at the first offer that looks good. He’s willing to wait and let the market play out. So far it’s worked for him and it’ll continue to work for him, as long as he’s willing to stay the course.