Chicago White Sox: Three likely players dealt at deadline
The Chicago White Sox and the rest of the MLB have the trade deadline looming, and there are some players that might be traded by then.
The Chicago White Sox have done some great things this season. They have made tremendous strides from where they were at this time last season. They are a young team loaded with a few guys that are going to be complete studs. They also have organizational depth at many positions and are hoping that they all come together someday to form a championship-caliber team.
Part of the process of getting to where they are right now was trading away valuable pieces that were not part of the future for things that will help them in the future. Multiple trades have occurred since the end of the 2016 season when the White Sox rebuild officially began. Now those trades along with some pretty good drafting and international free agent luck, have turned this team into one that people see as dangerous moving forward.
They are not going to make the playoffs this year so it might be time to make another trade. There are some very good pieces on this team that you can argue are not a part of the future, and if the right package is presented for one of these players, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Rick Hahn pulls the trigger.
There are some really good prospects in this organization, and trading some of the guys who are great players that are not going to move the needle next year or beyond. These trades usually happen in favor of a team looking to win right now. The good team gets a player that helps them succeed right now and the non-playoff team moves on from a guy they don’t see coming back in exchange for prospects. These three players make the most sense as guys the White Sox could say goodbye to:
Aaron Bummer has had a really good season for the Chicago White Sox so far this season. He is the type of guy a championship team needs really bad. He isn’t the White Sox closer but he is a very valuable middle relief pitcher that can come in and shut the opposition down until they get to the ninth inning. He is a setup man that would be so valuable to a team with a good closer and no guy to do that role properly.
He would also be an awesome addition to just about any bullpen. He has made appearances in 31 games so far this season, and in those 31 games, he has a 1.73 ERA with a 0.881 WHIP. His WAR is at 1.6 which makes up almost his entire career WAR of 1.7. It goes to show you how good of a year he is having.
The 25-year-old might get some calls from other teams looking to go for it. Three teams in the American League East would love to have Bummer’s services for the playoffs and those teams are the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays. They are all going to fight each other until the playoffs roll around and they might even need to fight each other some more.
If one of those teams or possibly some other team can wow the White Sox with a package for Bummer, they will certainly go for it and send him off to try and win a World Series. He is a fantastic reliever and any team would be lucky to have him.
Alex Colome has been exactly what the White Sox hoped for in a closer. He has come into each game that had a save situation and pretty much been great every time. He has a credited record of 3-1, but in 39 games he has 21 saves. The White Sox are going to need a closer when they’re competing for the division, so it will be interesting to see if the White Sox keep him or not.
He would bring a lot to a team with playoff aspirations. You can pretty much count on the game being over if Alex Colome comes into it with a lead. Obviously, nobody is perfect but he does have 21 saves in 22 opportunities. The one blown save was against the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. Those are impressive stats for this guy and lots of teams would want some of that.
Whoever acquires him could pay more based on the fact that there’s a chance that he isn’t just a rental. He is arbitration-eligible in 2020 and then a free agent in 2021. So a team with a two-year window would be the most ideal for Colome if the White Sox don’t want to keep him for next year.
His ERA in 2019 is 2.33 and a .802 WHIP. Those are some good numbers for a guy that comes in the ninth inning to shut down the other team for the win. Not everybody is cut out for those moments and Colome is for sure. He would definitely bring a lot to a team that has that hole to fill.
Jose Abreu is an elite offensive first baseman. He has been the White Sox best player throughout some very dark times. The fact of the matter is that he is on an expiring contract so he is always going to be in trade rumors. The White Sox might opt to keep him and resign him to be there as a big bat in the middle of the lineup and be a veteran presence on a young team.
The White Sox could also decide to move him because teams would pay a premium to have his services for the playoffs. He is an elite hitter having one of the best years of his career. He currently has a .279 batting average with 22 home runs and 72 RBIs. A 30 home run and 100 RBI season is very much in play for Abreu. He would look nice in the middle of a lot of Major League lineups.
There have been rumors out there connecting him to some east coast teams along with some teams out west, but nobody actually knows where he would go if Rich Hahn decided to move him. Most fans and people in the organization would probably give backlash if they moved him unless they got an offer they couldn’t refuse. He has meant a lot to this team and its fans over the years so seeing him be traded would be tough.
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With all of that said, if you had to pick three players that are the most likely to be traded, Abreu would have to be one of the three you pick simply based on the contract and age situation. The ideal situation would be that Abreu gets to see this rebuild through and be the old guy that every championship team needs.