White Sox: 3 trade packages for Adam Frazier checkmate AL Central
The Chicago White Sox has had a tremendous amount of bad luck in 2021. Injuries have piled up and it is unknown how far they can go if they just let it be with what they have left. With how good their pitching has been so far this year, they should probably consider it the first full season of their current championship window.
We know that Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert should be able to return at some point. That will add tremendous offensive pop to the starting lineup. However, Nick Madrigal wasn’t as fortunate. He had to undergo hamstring surgery which is going to put an end to his 2021 season. It is a tough loss but not now that the White Sox can’t overcome. If they make a smart move before the MLB trading deadline, they might be okay.
The Chicago White Sox should try to acquire Adam Frazier in a trade this summer.
One of those smart moves would be to trade for Adam Frazer of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is a very good second baseman that could play with them for the rest of 2021 and potentially even beyond. Nick Madrigal will be back with no issues by spring 2022 but depth is key in Major League Baseball, as we are seeing with the 2021 White Sox.
Frazier would step in and play second base right now. Danny Mendick is a capable player but Frazier would be a significant upgrade as the White Sox look to take that next step this year. The Pirates are not very good and are surely going to try and sell off their most valuable assets as they build for the future. These are three trade packages that might get Frazier to Chicago:
The Chicago White Sox could trade their top prospect in a one-for-one deal.
Adam Frazier might be the best option that the White Sox can realistically target at this point of the 2021 season. He is having a phenomenal year on a Pirates team that is going absolutely nowhere. They are the only team in the National League Central that feels completely out of it. That is why they might be willing to trade away a player like this.
Frazier is 29 and has another year of control after this one. That is why the White Sox might part ways with Jared Kelley. He was their second-round pick in 2020 and could have been a first-round pick had there been a season for him leading up to the draft. Due to the fact that Michael Kopech, Nick Madrigal, Garrett Crochet, and Andrew Vaughn all graduated off the prospects list, Kelley now sits atop the White Sox prospect farm.
It is a hefty price to give up in a one for one deal but it would be worth it. Frazier could be a big piece to the puzzle that the White Sox are trying to finish here in 2021. They won’t use Kelley for a long time as there are plenty of great starting pitchers on the MLB roster right now. If they keep him he may become a star but this deal is certainly something to consider.
The Chicago White Sox may be willing to part ways with some corner infielders.
The Chicago White Sox has their long-term infield pretty much set. When healthy, Tim Anderson is the shortstop, Yoan Moncada is the third baseman, Nick Madrigal is the second baseman, and Jose Abreu is the first baseman. The only one of those guys who are on the wrong side of 30 is Jose Abreu and they have Andrew Vaughn to take over when the time is right.
Outside of replacing Madrigal due to injury, there isn’t much need for future everyday infielders in the organization. That means that Blake Rutherford and Gavin Sheets are expendable. Each of them is having a pretty good time right now in AAA but there isn’t much room for them on the White Sox active roster. If they were traded to the Pirates right now, they might get an opportunity.
Rutherford is the team’s number eight prospect and Sheets is the number 9 guy. That is a pretty nice return for a rebuilding Pirates team that is looking to add as much talent as possible. The White Sox won’t need them in the immediate future but they do need a second baseman like Adam Frazier. If they were to make a big trade like this, it could be what they need in order to make a deep run this October.
A pitcher with a position player might get a trade done for the Chicago White Sox.
The Chicago White Sox could really use a bat-like Frazier in addition to his glove at second base. It is a perfect fit for an organization that really wants to try and win the World Series more than once over the next few years. It is certainly going to be hard just to get one so they are going to need all of the help that they can get. If Frazier joined a mostly healthy White Sox team down the stretch, they would be a really scary group.
Jonathan Stiever is the number four prospect in the White Sox organization. He is a right-handed pitcher that has already made a couple of appearances in the MLB with the White Sox. He has a lot of development to go but the Pirates are better suited to do that right now as the White Sox are only using pitchers who can get outs right now.
Jake Burger is showing off his power a lot so far in the Minor Leagues. He is a good player that is a former first-round pick of the Chicago White Sox. He hasn’t reached his MLB potential just yet because of some serious injuries. He is now showing why he was drafted so high. However, he has been passed by in the organization since being drafted so that is why he is tradable.
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It is a perfect fit for the White Sox and Frazier. There are going to be other teams checking in with the Pirates during the months of June and July which is why it might be smart for the White Sox to look into things now. Any of these trades would make them have a better chance to win the World Series.