The White Sox would have to trade Michael Kopech in a Juan Soto trade.
The Chicago White Sox has had a lot invested in Michael Kopech for a long time. He has been an elite starter at times but he has also had some bumps in the road. This all comes in 2022 as he was a long reliever in 2021 (and was quite good at it).
Kopech was used as a reliever in 2021 because of the fact that he was coming off a big-time injury that required Tommy John. He also missed the short 2020 season as he opted out due to personal reasons. Now, he is trying to get his grove on as a full-time starter.
The second half is going to be big for Michael as he needed the All-Star break as bad as anyone on this team. We can only hope that Tony La Russa and the staff use him correctly so that he can be fresh and ready to go when they need him the most.
With all of that in mind, if the unlikely Juan Soto trade call came the White Sox way, he would almost have to be included. They are going to want one of their top starting pitchers and they are unlikely to move Dylan Cease or Lucas Giolito as they are more established stars.
Almost none f this is going to be enough as Washington is going to try and grind a team for everything they can in this deal. Then the team that acquires him is going to have to sign him for close to half a billion dollars over the next decade. It is just so hard to see the White Sox doing that but these three players would certainly be on the block if it did happen.