Chicago White Sox: 3 all-time great trades in franchise history

The trade the Chicago White Sox made involving Chris Sale started a great rebuild.

Reaching back to 2016, the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox completed a trade that continues to pay strong dividends. On December 6, 2016, the White Sox sent ace pitcher Chris Sale to the Red Sox in exchange for four prospects. These four prospects were right-handed pitcher Michael Kopech, third baseman Yoan Moncada, right handed pitcher Victor Diaz, and outfielder Luis Alexander-Basabe.

It took a lot of nerve to give up one of the White Sox’s best players but the players that they got in return, providing they can stay healthy and remain in the lineup, may be equal to or greater than what they lost with Chris Sale.

It’s hard to replace the guy that helped the Sox win as Sale did. Sale proved his value with the Red Sox in 2018, thanks to his great game five performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. The White Sox may miss Sale but the players they selected have a bright future ahead of them.

Of the four players Chicago picked up in the trade, Moncada has had the most success. When he isn’t hurt, he does well at the plate. His slash line is currently .272/.398/.407. Moncada does make a mistake or two every now and then but he’s getting better and is one of the better players on the team.

In 2019, Kopech spent the entire season on the injured list after having Tommy John surgery. Then, in 2020, he sat out the season because of COVID-19. In 2021 so far, he has pitched and pitched decently as a member of the Sox bullpen. Diaz is out of baseball currently. Alexander-Basabe is now with the San Francisco Giants organization. He played some minor league ball with the White Sox but has since moved on. Both Diaz and Alexander-Basabe didn’t have an impact on the Sox.