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White Sox: 4 All-Stars that could be traded to Chicago

By Mitchell Kaminski

DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 13: American League All-Stars Whit Merrifield #15 of the Kansas City Royals, Joey Wendle #18 of the Tampa Bay Rays and Tim Anderson #7 of the Chicago White Sox celebrate after defeating the National League team during the 91st MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Coors Field on July 13, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. The American League team won 5-2. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Colorado Rockies/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 13: American League All-Stars Whit Merrifield #15 of the Kansas City Royals, Joey Wendle #18 of the Tampa Bay Rays and Tim Anderson #7 of the Chicago White Sox celebrate after defeating the National League team during the 91st MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Coors Field on July 13, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. The American League team won 5-2. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Colorado Rockies/Getty Images) /
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Chicago White Sox, Craig Kimbrel
(Photo by Kyle Cooper/Colorado Rockies/Getty Images) /

Craig Kimbrel

Craig Kimbrel would be a great fit in the Chicago White Sox bullpen as a setup man.

After an eleven-game losing streak, the Chicago Cubs went from buyers to sellers at the trade deadline. That is music to White Sox fan’s ears. The Cubs already began their yard sale by shipping Joc Peterson to the Atlanta Braves.

Craig Kimbrel is going to be one of the next to go for the Cubs. Premium bullpen arms usually fetch a high price this time of year. Craig Kimbrel has been an elite reliever throughout his career. In 12 seasons he has a 2.08 ERA and is closing in on 1,000 strikeouts. This season Kimbrel posted a 0.57 ERA with 20 saves and 54 strikeouts. He earned his fourth trip to the All-Star game in 2021. He saw three batters before giving way to Zack Wheeler. He retired Jared Walsh, allowed a double to Adolis Garcia, and got Nelson Cruz to ground out to first.

The White Sox also had a reliever in the All-Star game. There’s faired a little better earning the save for the American League. Liam Hendriks has been excellent for the White Sox this season. He leads the AL in saves and was named reliever of the month in May.

If the White Sox traded for Kimbrel he would not be a the closer. Instead, he would serve as an elite setup man, giving the White Sox the best backend of the bullpen in baseball. The White Sox bullpen has been disappointing to this point, with many players failing to live up to their lofty expectations.

Kimbrel would help solidify the bullpen and guarantee a lead after eight innings. The roadblock for the White Sox is having to pay the metaphorical “cross-town tax”. The Cubs had to pay it in 2017 when they threw in Dylan Cease in the Jose Quintana trade.

Related Story. Tim Anderson made some interesting TLR comments. light

The Cubs came to regret that trade and you know they will be asking for a big haul from the White Sox. It would be unwise for the White Sox to give up top prospects for an eighth-inning man. The chances of them getting a good deal for Kimbrel is slim, but if the price is right they should pull the trigger.

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