Chicago White Sox: Three players to trade for a starting pitcher

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(Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images)
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(Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
(Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

The Chicago White Sox might want to trade one of their depth pieces for a depth pitcher.

So far, it looks like the 3-5 pitchers of the Chicago White Sox are a bit shaky. Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel each have a good start under their belts now but there are a few reasons to be concerned about everybody else. They might be willing to do some adding to this rotation if this lack of depth in the rotation doesn’t show itself. In order to do that, they might need to lose a great player.

They also might be able to trade someone who you would just consider a “solid” player for someone who you would consider a “solid” pitcher. Getting a good number four or number five would be so worth it to these guys and moving other people down or into the bullpen. Obviously, more of their guys need to play better but adding one more might make that so much easier.

We will see who becomes available as the season progresses but it could be anyone. As long as they are a pretty good pitcher, the White Sox would be wise to go for one. These White Sox have a lot of great players in their starting lineup. There are so many great hitters in this lineup so moving some of the backups for pitching would be really wise. They need to be able to keep the opposition down in order for this roster to be able to do anything with their offense.

If they are able to expand their rotation, that will improve their bullpen by default. Moving some of those guys who they don’t use regularly might force the coach to construct better lineups anyway so this could be a win all around if they did it. These are three good players that they can trade for a starter:

(Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images) /

player. 128. . C. Chicago White Sox. Zack Collins. 38

The Chicago White Sox are pretty deep at catcher. They have Yasmani Grandal and James McCann there ready to go. That means that there isn’t really much of a place for Zack Collins in the lineup right now. McCann and Grandal are all better than Collins at this point. He might be able to elevate his game in the future but the White Sox has their catching set.

Grandal is there for a long time so he is going to get a bulk of the starts. McCann is just signed for this year but he could absolutely be in play to come back if he continues to be awesome this year. Grandal was given the biggest contract in the history of the White Sox so he is going to be the guy for at least four years. By that point, Collins will probably want to be a starter somewhere if he proves himself.

Well, this team might be it for him or it might not. They do, however, need more pitching. That is why moving Collins for a good starter would really go a long way. He was a first-round pick so you know that the talent is there. For that reason, a team might be willing to take a chance on him and give him a lot of playing time.

(Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images) /

. UTIL. Chicago White Sox. Leury Garcia. 27. player. 128

The Chicago White Sox have a good player in Leury Garcia. He is the type of guy that can play every position which is nice. He can pop in the lineup at just about any spot and be productive for a game or two. He is mainly needed to start the year at second-base because they haven’t called up Nick Madrigal yet. They are probably going to call him up soon which leaves Garcia without a position.

Right-field might have been a spot for Garcia as Nomar Mazara is out right now but he is coming back soon as well so there will be really no place for Garcia in the everyday lineup. Every position is taken by a guy who is above average in some way so keeping a guy like Garcia in is not worth it.

If they didn’t trade him, he is a good utility guy to have on the bench but you almost can’t assume that Rick Renteria will use him in that spot like he should. Moving him for pitching would take his ability to do that away and give them another solid arm for the rotation. Until that happens, hopefully, the White Sox are able to use their best players and have Garcia as a great bench piece.

(Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
(Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

128. . OF. Chicago White Sox. Adam Engel. 15. player

Adam Engel has had a great start to the season for the White Sox. He has a slash line of .455/.500/.727 in 12 plate appearances. He doesn’t have any big power numbers but he has been getting on base which is nice to see. He isn’t going to be in the lineup a whole lot when Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, and Nomar Mazara aren’t healthy but having him on the bench ready to go is a nice luxury.

They also know he isn’t going to sustain offensive numbers like that and it isn’t even going to be close. His defense is very good at times but you never know how his offense is going to be on any given night. He is a good bench player on a good team but you probably aren’t winning the World Series with Adam Engel in your everyday lineup.

His hot start and very good defense might get a team to acquire him. Sometimes, teams might be willing to sacrifice offense for a really good defensive center-fielder. The White Sox has Luis Robert who can do it all so it doesn’t really apply to them but another team might give a really nice pitcher for his services.

Hot. Ozzie Guillen says that he is not retired. light

There is no guarantee that the White Sox do anything like this but you never know. Rick Hahn has shown us that he is always willing to improve this team so it will be interesting to see what he does if this rotation continues to struggle.

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