Chicago White Sox: Three trade packages for Kirby Yates
The Chicago White Sox could still be looking to upgrade their team and Kirby Yates being inserted into the bullpen would be a very good addition.
The Chicago White Sox are hoping that they are a good team once the 2020 season gets underway. There is a lot of hype about how they are going to do. They believe in themselves for all of the right reasons. They are young and good. They have a lot of talent in their starting lineup. That much is very clear. They will score a lot of runs.
One thing that is a minor question is their pitching. Their 1-5 starting rotation is vastly improved over their 1-5 rotation in 2019. In 2019, Lucas Giolito had a lot of inconsistency behind him. There are pitchers with talent, but none reached their true potential yet. In 2020, Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez coming into the fold should eliminate any non-MLB level pitchers from getting starts. They also expect Reynaldo Lopez, Dylan Cease, and Michael Kopech to take big steps in their development as well.
That leaves the bullpen. That might be the strongest asset in White Sox pitching. The back end of the bullpen is very strong. Alex Colome, Aaron Bummer, Evan Marshall, and Steve Cishek should form a formidable group. There are also a few other guys there with talent that could surprise some people and make a name for themselves this year.
It is very important for this young team to know that if they get to the late stages of a baseball game with the lead, they have a good chance to come out with a win. They still could add one more piece. Kirby Yates might be available this year via trade and the White Sox could jump all over that. He was one of the best relievers in baseball during the 2019 season. These are three trade packages that could get Yates on the South Side:
Trade 1
The Chicago White Sox should be very serious about adding another veteran reliever to this group. That should mean giving up some decent prospects/MLB ready talent in order to do so. Especially in the case of a player like Kirby Yates who was arguably the best reliever in baseball during the 2019 season. That is why trading Luis Alexander Basabe and Danny Mendick for Yates would be a move worth making for Chicago.
Basabe is a good young prospect but everyone knows that Luis Robert is the centerfielder of the present and future. It would take a lot for that to not be the case so Basabe is probably best suited for another team. The Padres would welcome in a prospect like that as he will be ready in a few years. Danny Mendick would be able to hop onto their roster right now. He would provide good depth for them at multiple positions.
Each of these guys is a part of the White Sox future if they don’t trade them, but eventually, they are going to need to move some of these younger players if they have depth at their position. Those types of trades will be for positions of need and every team in the league needs a reliever like Yates.
Trade 2
The Chicago White Sox are loaded at the catcher position. Everybody knew about James McCann because of his breakout season in 2019. He fit in with the White Sox right away in his first year with them. His All-Star appearance was sweet to watch for fans knowing that a good player was playing one of the most important positions on the diamond.
It got even better when they added Yasmani Grandal via free agency. He is an upgrade over McCann as he might just be the best catcher in all of baseball. There is no doubt that this duo can be the best catching tandem in all of Major League Baseball. That is why Zack Collins could be good trade bait. He has been a highly-touted prospect for a long time. He would be a perfect 1 for 1 trade between Chicago and San Diego.
People might wonder what would happen then if one of McCann or Grandal got hurt but they have answeres there. Seby Zavala and Yermin Mercedes are more than capable of being the third-string catcher. If San Diego needs depth at the position and was willing to move Yates, the White Sox should absolutely do it.
Trade 3
The Chicago White Sox, as mentioned before, is pretty set at the catcher position for a while. If they wanted to move Seby Zavala for Kirby Yates, that would be a win. It would even be a win if they threw Gavin Sheets in the deal as well. This is a two for one trade that would helo out both sides. The Padres would be adding two young players to their organization while the White Sox would be adding a dominant reliever.
Gavin Sheets is the first baseman. The White Sox have an old friend named Jose Abreu to be their first baseman for a while before Andrew Vaughn takes over from there. This team is historically good at having a very good player play in that position. They went from Frank Thomas to Paul Konerko to Jose Abreu all before Vaughn takes over. That is why it is hard to see Sheets ever playing the position full time.
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Kirby Yates is a dominant reliever that the White Sox would be smart to add if they can. He had a 1.19 ERA and a 0.890 WHIP in 2019 over 60.2 innings pitched. He had a 3.0 WAR which is excellent for a relief pitcher. He might have to wait and see if the Padres are contenders to see how this works but when the time is right, the White Sox would be a perfect fit.