The Chicago White Sox aren’t exactly bursting at the seams with talent but they have a few players that are doing well right now.
When it comes to hitting the ball, Tommy Pham, when he’s not on the IL, and Nicky Lopez are swinging a good bat. On the pitcher's mound, Garrett Crochet is doing extremely well and has been a pleasant surprise. Erick Fedde is also doing well. Michael Kopech has his moments but overall, he’s doing ok.
The White Sox have some trade chips that they can use to acquire more talent. Let’s focus on two guys, in particular, that are quite possibly going to go on the trading block, Garrett Crochet and Michael Kopech.
Right now, if they both continue on their upward trek, the Sox could get quite a bit for them, especially Crochet.
Crochet is one of the best pitchers in the league right now and could command quite a bit in the open market. There are rumors that there are a couple of teams interested in him already.
Perhaps the biggest question mark about him is whether or not he can last the full season. He hasn’t been a starter before and may not be able to go the distance. But if he could, and if other teams think that he could, he just might be of high value to an organization.
What would you get in return for a guy like Crochet? Being unproven still, the White Sox are probably not going to get a big haul for him. One wouldn’t think that they would get a blockbuster deal for him. But some pitching help as well as perhaps some minor league outfielder help could be gotten for a guy like Crochet.
Then you have Kopech. A former starter who is now a closer and a decent one at that. Closers are highly sought after in the majors so Kopech could be getting some looks from other teams. Now they won’t get as much for him as they will someone like Crochet but they will get something for him and it could be a minor-league closer or some outfielders to help fill some gaps in the team’s talent pool.
Believe it or not, in previous trades, the White Sox have been smart about what they have gotten.
The Dylan Cease trade, along with the Aaron Bummer trade, has paid dividends for the Sox. Despite how bad they are doing now, it would appear that they are geared up for the future by doing what they are doing now with their current players.
Would it be wise to trade away such two good players especially since they are so young? Some feel that the White Sox could build around Kopech and Crochet and those guys could be there for a while. So therefore, it would be of high value to keep them around. However, if the Sox are looking to build towards the future, they need more pieces and a way to get those pieces is to let some of their better players go in trade.
There are rumors that the San Diego Padres, the same team that grabbed Dylan Cease in a trade prior to the season, are interested in Crochet. This would make of an interesting trade and perhaps the Sox could get a nice haul, like they got with Cease, out of the Padres.
Kopech is a little bit different story. There may be some teams out there that would want him to be in their closer role. Perhaps a team that is likely to reach the post season would be interested in adding him as a closer. Kopech would probably net two or three good prospects that the Sox could use in the future.