The Chicago White Sox are a team that’s clearly in rebuilding mode. This couldn’t have been more evident when, on Wednesday night, they traded away their best pitcher, Dylan Cease, to the San Diego Padres. They gave up Cease for four prospects in a trade that has left some wondering if the Sox got enough out of the deal or not.
Even though the White Sox had been shopping the star pitcher for the entire offseason, the trade still came as a shock to some. And for the value, it might be a little bit more of a shock for what the White Sox got. Granted, the prospects improve the farm system but if the Sox were wanting to win this season, this only hurt their cause.
This trade wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Let’s look at three reasons why this trade wasn’t a good idea for the White Sox.
More Losses
You can guarantee that without having Cease in the rotation this season, the White Sox are going to lose more games. That’s a given. He was a proven winner and someone that the Sox relied upon to get them a good ten to 13 wins a year. That could mean the difference between the playoffs or sitting at home. Now granted, the Sox weren’t projected to do that well to begin with, but they are going to be worse without Cease.
With this shift, it’s likely that the Sox could become basement dwellers in the AL Central. Sure, it’s one guy but it’s one very important guy. Not only does your best pitcher leave but it forces a guy that is likely less talented into a spot in the rotation. The losses will just keep piling up.
The Return
The White Sox got four players, three of whom do not appear ready for major league action. If the Sox were planning to win now, judging by the players they got, they weren’t, they would have had a much different haul. There will be further evaluations of these players coming in later stories but for now. It looks like it was a boost to their farm system rather than a boost to their major league roster.
For any fan who thought that the Sox were going to win this year by bringing in some great players for Cease, that ship has sailed. There will not be a star shortstop coming in return for a pitcher who was second in the Cy Young voting two years ago. We won’t see a solid starting pitcher in return. Instead, we have three farm hands and a guy who might end up playing a little this year but won’t contribute that much.
The Endgame
The endgame in all of this, for the Sox is clear. They aren’t going to win this season and that’s a real bummer for most fans. Sure, we could kind of tell that they weren’t going to win this season anyway, but they aren’t going to win much of anything now. It’s going to be a year of watching prospects get some time, the team going on long losing streaks and a declining fandom.
All in the name of rebuilding.
And now, with Cease out, it’s hard to tell who could go next. It’s possible that even a guy like Luis Robert Jr. could be traded away. You just don’t know about the White Sox. They may be ready to go all the way to the bottom and then build themselves back up again.
And for fans, that’s not going to be that fun.