Tommy Pham
The veteran outfielder was signed just as the season started. He was brought in to bring some wisdom to the Sox younger players and then be flipped at the deadline.
He is having a solid season and should recoup a solid, young prospect from a contender. The issue is the return might not be what the White Sox front office is looking for. Last year, the New York Mets got a very young prospect with immense potential but is years away from the majors.
The Sox are rumored to be interested in positional bats with upside at Double-A or Triple-A. The White Sox farm system could use a bat with a higher ceiling rather than a hitter who has a ceiling of just being good enough to be in the big leagues.
Pham should at least deliver that prospect.
Michael Kopech
A couple of weeks ago, Kopech was blowing saves and was looking like prime non-tender candidate. He switched agents to Scott Boras and suddenly he is getting outs rather easily. Maybe Boras convinced Kopech the only way Kopech will have a career is to stop trying to throw the ball harder and throw his slider and cutter a bit more often.
Kopech only has one year left of club control and you never know when he will go back to just trying to overpower hitters rather than pitch to get them out.
Since he can throw serious heat, a contender is going to want him in his bullpen especially this recent version of him. While there are questions about how he can mentally handle being a closer or being thrown into a title race, he has proven over his career he can handle a seventh or eighth-inning role.
He did great in 2021 in that role and would probably deliver the same results for whoever trades for him.