Chicago White Sox: Benefitting from Rays trade with Padres
The Chicago White Sox are one of the teams that benefit from the Rays trade with the Padres.
The Chicago White Sox are a team that believes they can be a contender in the American League going into 2021. They were that good in 2020 but the bottom fell out towards the end and they weren’t able to get out of their own way in the playoffs. They aren’t done adding this offseason but they really could go into 2021 as legit World Series contenders despite what they do going forward. There are a lot of great players on this team and they believe they can do it.
If they were to make a run like that, there are a few teams that would try to stand in their way. One of those teams would almost certainly be the Tampa Bay Rays. They were the American League champions in 2020 but fell short in the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a great year for them but now it seems like they are taking a step back.
They traded Blake Snell to the San Diego Padres in exchange for some prospects. It was a trade that sent shockwaves across the MLB universe last night as the Padres are acquiring a Cy Young Award winner with three years left on his deal. The Padres are going for the pennant in 2021 as well so adding Blake Snell to their rotation should be pretty helpful.
This is a trade that makes the Rays worse in the short term. They might be better for it in the end if some of the prospects they acquired reach their potential but for now, it was just a cost-cutting move. They still have a stud in Tyler Glasnow at the top of their rotation but not having him go with Snell makes it a bit tougher. They are probably still going to be one of the better teams in the American League but not having Snell does decrease their chances.
Yoenis Cespedes would be a decent add for the White Sox. light. Hot
Hopefully, the White Sox are able to take advantage of this if they are forced to meet with them in the playoffs. Of course, there are some other good teams in the American League to worry about like the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, and Minnesota Twins but the Rays are the defending League Champs. Seeing a pitcher like that head to the National League is very good news for the White Sox.