MLB Trade Deadline: Three White Sox rumors that never came true
The White Sox had some trade rumors that never came true by the MLB Trade Deadline.
The Chicago White Sox are a good baseball team. When you are a good baseball team, you become a big part of rumors at the trade deadline. Similar to when you are a bad baseball team except instead of being perceived as sellers, you are perceived as buyers. They went into the trade deadline tied for first place with the Cleveland Indians and then went on to win while Cleveland loss to wake up today all alone in first-place.
They didn’t, however, make any trades to make themselves any better on paper. That is probably a good thing because this team is sticking with the process. They don’t need to be trading any of their guys that can be seen as future pieces for players that would come in and spend a year or two with the White Sox. There is a lot of work left to do before this team is a perennial contender but they aren’t that far away.
The Sox are loaded with talent in their starting lineup. They have studs there that are going to continue to be there for the next half-decade or more so supplementing them with more depth talent is important but they need to be smarter with their course of action to do so. They need to make smart trades and free-agent signings and not do something on a whim.
Their pitching rotation has also been pretty good. Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel are absolutely guys you can rely on in big-time situations. Dylan Cease, Reynaldo Lopez, Dane Dunning, and Gio Gonzalez are all capable of having a good start but they would have been more comfortable with having a more battle-tested arm in the mix but that wasn’t in the cards this deadline.
There were plenty of rumors involving the White Sox but it was all for not. Some fans might be mad that the Sox didn’t make any additions but it will end up being good in the long run. These are the three biggest trade rumors that the Sox were a part of that didn’t come true:
Mike Clevinger/Cleveland Indians Trade
The Cleveland Indians are a team that went into the trade deadline tied with the White Sox for first place in the American League Central. They have a surplus of elite pitching which makes it understandable why they cut bait with Mike Clevinger for his off the field antics but it does feel weird that they gave up on him so quickly. They have a legit chance to win the World Series with that pitching and they just let him go.
The White Sox were all over these rumors surrounding Clevinger. It was hard to see a division rival that is tied with you for the division lead handing over an elite pitcher but that was the conversation being had. It would have been cool to see him join Giolito and Keuchel but it never did.
Instead, the Cleveland Indians sent Clevinger to the San Diego Padres in a nine-player deal. It was really interesting to see it all develop over the past few days as Clevinger was the biggest piece known to be on the market. The Padres won the day and a large part of it was because they added an ace to their staff. The price was too high for the White Sox to smartly acquire him so it is probably better in the end that he is now in the National League.
Lance Lynn/Los Angeles Dodgers Trade
Right behind Clevinger on the starting pitching trade market was Lance Lynn of the Texas Rangers. The White Sox were all over that rumor as well and it lasted for a few days leading up to the trade deadline. He isn’t as good as Clevinger but he still would have looked really nice behind the two White Sox studs at the top of the rotation. However, it is good that the White Sox didn’t make a crazy move to acquire him and hurt themselves down the road.
Lynn is a great player for the Rangers but he isn’t someone to mortgage the future over. This is also a super strange season and we don’t know how it is going to end so it is probably good that the White Sox didn’t overpay for a guy like that. The Los Angeles Dodgers came close to getting him but even they failed to get a deal done.
Lynn was informed at the deadline that he would remain with the Texas Rangers for the balance of the season. It is probably good for him and his family because they don’t have to see him pack up and move for a few months during a global pandemic. He may be a name to re-visit during the offseason but for now, Dylan Cease and Dane Dunning might really be able to carry the bottom of the rotation for now.
Trading Away Michael Kopech
People with big hearts feel for Michael Kopech. His career hasn’t gone exactly as planned over the last few years and that has kept him out of the White Sox lineup now for a while. He made his MLB debut at the end of 2018. After a few starts, he hurt his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery. That shut him down for the remainder of the 2018 season and all of the 2019 season. He looked very good in his 2020 Spring Training debut but the league was paused right after for COVID-19.
When the White Sox and the rest of Major League Baseball returned, Kopech opted out of the season. Nobody has the full story but some personal reasons seem to be the issue. It isn’t our business and we support Kopech to the fullest extent. He will be back better than ever in 2021 and he might even have a chip on his shoulder after the way things have been for the past few years.
All of that is why the White Sox would be very unwise to trade away Kopech. He can throw a moving fastball 101 miles per hour and has electric stuff when he is on the mound. This is a guy who trading leaves an open door for him to become a star on another team. He was in rumors leading up the deadline but the White Sox were wise enough to hand on to him.
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The organization even addressed his situation once the deadline passed yesterday. Sure, it is a bit scary that by the time he takes the ball in 2021 it will have been almost three years since his last start but he has the talent to overcome that. Hopefully, he is able to reward the White Sox for sticking with him despite a lot of people wanting them to ship him out. The White Sox did well by not doing anything on this deadline.