Chicago White Sox: Three trade packages for Josh Hader
The Chicago White Sox could look to improve their bullpen by adding someone like Josh Hader.
The Chicago White Sox are a team that is just coming out of a long painful rebuild. They are finally starting to look like the powerhouse that we imagined they would be when they first traded Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox. Now, they might even be buyers at the trade deadline in order to make a deep playoff run. They have a pretty good bullpen right now but adding another star reliever would really go a long way in them getting even better.
Josh Hader is one of the best relief pitchers in all of baseball. He currently plays for the Milwaukee Brewers who are not looking like they are going to be a playoff team. They have one of the worst team batting averages in all of baseball and their pitching hasn’t been exactly perfect. With that said, Hader has been doing his job when called upon in relief situations.
He has played in ten games so far this season where he has seven saves in 9.2 innings pitched. In those 9.2 innings, he has a remarkable 14 strikeouts, 1.86 ERA, and 1.034 WHIP. These are some really good numbers for a guy playing on a team that might not get him the lead as much as he is used to. If he came to the White Sox, he would have so much more value.
He has arbitration rights after this season but isn’t a free agent until 2024 which makes him an intriguing target. At 26 years old, you would figure that he is going to be a good closer/reliever for a lot more years. If the White Sox wanted to add a guy like this, they might be willing to make one of these three deals:
Trade One
The Chicago White Sox have some special talent on their roster and in the minors. Danny Mendick went into the season as a top-20 prospect for them but he has come in and been awesome for them. It is hard to see him in the starting lineup when the team is fully healthy years down the line so maybe trading him while he has good value is a good idea. Right now, he is looking like he could be a good utility player for a while.
Jonathan Stiever is a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher. On MLB dot com, he is projected to reach the Major Leagues in 2021. You never know how accurate that is going to end up being but it is exciting for whoever has him by the time he reaches the big leagues. If it were the Brewers. he would be able to eventually slot in and try to help them win.
The White Sox and Brewers have made deals in the past and the two organizations have had a lot in common over the past few years. If they were able to pull off a big trade like this, the White Sox would really be adding a quality closer/reliever for a price that they should be willing to pay.
Trade Two
This trade would be a lot more of a blockbuster. This might be more of the type of trade that Milwaukee requires to let Hader go. Some White Sox fans might not want to pay that much for a reliever, even one as good as Josh Hader. With that said, you might not be able to pry him from the Brewers if you are unable to part with a lot of trade capital. A trade like this one would certainly fit that bill.
The obvious center of the package as far as the White Sox are concerned is Michael Kopech. He has been one of the top prospects in the organization since day one of the rebuild processes as he came over in the Chris Sale trade. He throws the ball very hard and gets incredible movement on it. The knock against him right now is that he hasn’t pitched since 2018. He had Tommy John surgery at the end of that season and it ended his 2019 season and he has opted out of the 2020 season.
If the Brewers were able to get their hands on Kopech, he would be a part of their rotation as soon as next season. Adding Adam Engel would be really nice for their defensive depth as well. If they had Engel to back up right-fielder for Christian Yelich in 2019, they probably would have beaten the eventual World Series Champion Washington Nationals in the Wild Card Game because he wouldn’t have made the game losing error in right.
This is a trade that might make White Sox fans angry but Hader is a really good pitcher. I, personally, am not trading for Kopech at any point this season unless it is for an elite starting pitcher that is locked up long term but the Brewers might really want him in a Hader deal.
Trade Three
If the White Sox wanted to make a one-for-one type of trade for Josh Hader, they would really need to give up a big piece. Hader is one great pitcher as mentioned before and he would really add another huge arm to the back end of the White Sox rotation. If he joined guys like Evan Marshall, Aaron Bummer, and Alex Colome, it would become an even better bullpen which is extremely important in today’s MLB.
Dane Dunning went into the season as one of the White Sox top ten prospects. He made his highly anticipated MLB Debut a couple of weeks ago and then made his second career start on Sunday. He looked very good in both games and should be a big part of the White Sox future if they decide to never trade him. If they were to get Hader in a one for one trade, however, they would certainly need to give up a pitcher that is as good as Dane Dunning.
Dunning is already pretty low in the projected future starting rotation so maybe moving him for bullpen help would be a good idea. He would go to the Milwaukee Brewers and have a chance to be an impact starter for them at some point. It would certainly be cool to see him go to the Brew Crew where he can pitch close to home in the National League if he wasn’t destined to spend his career with the White Sox.
light. Hot. The White Sox are in first place going into Minnesota
Josh Hader hasn’t been connected to the White Sox even a little bit. This is all a fun trade package to drive conversation but there is no doubt that this would be an idea that could really help out both teams. They are all unique trades that could fit different asking prices for either team which makes it even more fun to think about. The Brewers moving on from Hader would definitely be a blockbuster level trade so it should be exciting to see if they do it on deadline Monday.