Chicago White Sox: Three trade packages for Zack Wheeler
The Chicago White Sox could make some good trades for Zack Wheeler if they wanted.
The Chicago White Sox need one more great starting pitcher. Everyone knows that and they are going to look down all avenues to get that position filled this offseason. Last offseason, the White Sox made a hard pitch to Zack Wheeler who was a free agent at the time. He was coming off a really good tenure with the New York Mets so he earned the right to go through free-agency near the top of the list.
The White Sox obviously lost out on his services after he signed a big deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. A big deal was made about the fact that he chose Philly because of the fact that it had local ties to his wife but now it is looking like it may have been a bad decision for him.
According to some reports, the Philadelphia Phillies are in big trouble financially. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit a lot of teams hard but the Phillies seem to be in the most distress. There are some reports out there now that Zack Wheeler offers are being considered by Philadelphia in an attempt to shed salary. The White Sox would still be a great fit for him.
If the White Sox added Wheeler in a trade, they might have all of the leverage based on the reports. The Phillies have since denied the claims that they are taking offers on Wheeler but it is hard to believe them. If the White Sox were able to pry him away, it probably wouldn’t cost that much and he would fit great behind Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel. These are three trades packages that might get it done:
Trade One
The Chicago White Sox have some great players in the organization throughout. A lot of people think of their farm system as one of the best and it is. When you think about it right now you might go to the top with names like Garrett Crochet, Michael Kopech, and Andrew Vaughn but it goes beyond that. Jonathan Stiever is currently the number seven prospect and the White Sox see his future as a very bright one.
Stiever would be a much cheaper replacement that is younger than Wheeler too. He would be able to step into their rotation next year or the year after depending on his development this offseason. He made his MLB debut in 2020 and was decent. He has a lot of development to go but chances are he will be a good pitcher someday.
Seby Zavala is a good player in his own right as well. He is currently listed as the White Sox number 23 prospect but he has already shown he can be okay in the MLB. He can catch and play first base which would be valuable to another franchise. There probably isn’t much room on the White Sox for a player like him so he would be a great trade chip. He might really be able to find success in an organization that needs a backup catcher like him.
Trade Two
Adding Zack Wheeler would be a tremendous boost to the White Sox starting rotation. They have Lucas Giolito as the ace of the staff and Dallas Keuchel isn’t too shabby behind him. A Zack Wheeler type pitcher inserted behind them would give them one of the best 1-3 trios in all of baseball. It was a big issue in the playoffs when they got to game three in their series against the Oakland Athletic because they didn’t have a plan for that decisive game three.
Dane Dunning is a fantastic young pitcher. The White Sox, however, might be willing to give him up to add more of a sure thing. Wheeler is more of a sure thing than Dunning but Dunning might be able to be a solid pitcher for a long time. He ate up some good innings for the White Sox in 2020 and should be able to keep that up going forward. If the White Sox kept him around that would be awesome but he certainly is a good trade chip after a strong 2020 debut.
There was a point where Micker Adolfo was the number two international prospect behind Eloy Jimenez. Well, since then, Adolfo has dealt with some injuries and that has hurt his stock a little bit. He still has an incredibly high ceiling if he can get healthy, stay healthy, and make it to the Majors. He is currently listed as the White Sox number nine prospect so Philly adding a guy like that would really help them.
Trade Three
The Chicago White Sox knows how good Jared Kelley has the potential to be. He was taken by the White Sox in the second round (47th overall) of the 2020 MLB Draft. He has quite the arm but he needs to put all his tools together. It is going to be a long time before he is in the MLB but once he gets there he could be a really good one. Some people believe that if there was a high school season, he would have proven to be an even higher draft pick.
Jared Kelley currently sits as the number six prospect in the White Sox system. Two spots below him as the number eight prospect is Matthew Thompson. Like Kelley, Thompson is a right-handed pitcher. Thompson was drafted in the second round as well (45th overall) but in the 2019 Draft. It appears that they have similar scouting grades which makes sense as they were picked at almost the exact same spot of the draft in back to back seasons.
Sending both of these studs away for Wheeler would be tough but worth it. The White Sox are in a little bit different of a spot than Philly is right now. The White Sox rebuild worked a little bit better so Philly has to regroup. Adding a few stud pitchers who are young might really help them in place of an aging star pitcher. The White Sox, meanwhile, would really love to have a third starter like this join their rotation.
Hot. The Chicago White Sox could bring back some of their own free agents. light
As mentioned before, the Phillies disputed any claims that they are open to trading Wheeler or even retooling their roster but it is hard to believe. We should get a good grasp of their intentions during the Winter Meetings this week. It will be cool to see the White Sox add Wheeler but as long as they get a third starter they will be fine.