The Chicago White Sox got an underwhelming return for pitcher Erick Fedde.
It sounds like the Sox could have done better had they decided to make a deal with their division rival, the Minnesota Twins. The team preferred to trade Fedde outside of the AL Central.
.@DanHayesMLB on how certain trade deadline deals didn't get done because teams aren't willing to trade within their division.
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 1, 2024
"You don't want to see your rivals win. ... That's ego." pic.twitter.com/aMihiClgPn
The White Sox were reported before the trade deadline expired to want to avoid dealing within the division, and that was bad business.
The Athletic's Dan Hayes is correct when he pointed out that general manager Chris Getz owed it to the franchise to get the best deal possible and not hope the Twins do not win anymore.
It is even more upsetting when the Sox are 40 games back in the division and keep losing to the Twins without Erick Fedde.
The Twins have no trouble beating the Sox without a stud pitcher like Fedde. It would make more sense to give Minnesota a year-and-a-half of Fedde while taking away a couple of their prospects that could make the Twins miserable for years to come.
The Sox reportedly had a huge ask from the Twins to trade Fedde to them.
Details on Twins Erick Fedde trade talks from @DanHayesMLB:
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 1, 2024
• White Sox wanted to start convo w/Walker Jenkins, Brooks Lee or Emmanuel Rodriguez. Twins said no.
• Twins were willing to trade Luke Keaschall but White Sox talks never advanced. Didn't want to trade in division. pic.twitter.com/OguMpNl7T7
Walter Jenkins is the Twins' No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He is the No. 5 overall prospect in baseball. Brooks Lee is the Twins second-best prospect in their system and Emmanuel Rodriguez is third. Lee is No. 13 and Rodriguez is No. 26.
Still, the counteroffer of Luke Keaschall is a good piece to build around. He is the team's No. 4 prospect and the 92nd-rated player in MLB Pipeline. He is also at Double-A, can hit, and get on base much like the prospects the Sox got in the three-team deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals.
Miguel Vargas is a directed former prospect in his own right. He was the 37th-ranked prospect in the top 100 last season. The one issue between Keaschall and Vargas is Luke is 21 and Miguel is 24. Develop time is still on Keaschall's side. Plus, that is player who could develop into a nightmare for the Twins to face.
Vargas could, too, but there is already one failure to hit at the big-league level on his development scorecard. His struggles to hit velocity could also limit what he does in the majors.
The Sox are so bad right now that they are years away from having to worry about catching the Twins or the Cleveland Guardians in the standings. That is another reason to shake your head when you see the Sox might have gotten a better deal from the Twins and turned them down all out of spite.