White Sox, Cubs could line up for rare crosstown trade after latest deadline rumors

With just over three days remaining until MLB’s trade deadline, the activity has yet to pick up. Rumors have swirled surrounding nearly every team, but not many deals have come to fruition thus far. Many teams will have a more straightforward buyers or sellers approach to the deadline, but for some, the answer isn’t so simple. A report earlier this week indicated that the Chicago Cubs are fielding offers on catcher Carson Kelly despite being firmly in the playoff picture. The Cubs could target big league ready arms in the deal, and it could open the door for a rare crosstown trade. 

The White Sox need at catcher is obvious. Starting backstop Kyle Teel may miss the rest of the season after suffering a high ankle sprain, and the performance of both Edgar Quero and Drew Romo has left a lot to be desired so far this season. The team is surely in the market for a veteran upgrade, and Kelly could represent one of the better available options. Kelly, 32, is in the second year of a two-year, $11.5 million deal with the Cubs, and moving to the south side would represent a fairly simple transition for him. Moving him would give the Cubs the chance to promote top prospect Owen Ayers, who’s hitting .320 with 23 home runs in the minor leagues this season, and potentially net them a young pitcher. 

Carson Kelly could be exactly the type of catcher the White Sox need

In Kelly, the White Sox would land a veteran option that plays serviceable defense and would certainly be an upgrade offensively. In 81 games this season, Kelly is hitting .260 with six home runs and a .719 OPS. On the heels of a resurgent season in which he posted a .761 OPS and hit 17 home runs in 2025, Kelly has split time with Miguel Amaya behind the plate, but would get an opportunity to be an everyday catcher in the White Sox lineup. With options like Jonah Heim and Tyler Stephenson getting more complicated, the most effective solution to the White Sox catching problem could come from the north side. Perhaps a young starter like Mason Adams or Ky Bush would be enough for the Cubs to part with Kelly for the final two months. 

The White Sox and Cubs don’t line up on trades often, but it’s become a more common practice in recent years, The most famous deal, of course, was the big trade that sent LHP Jose Quintana to the Cubs back in 2017, and netted the White Sox Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez. The two teams hooked up again in 2021, making two separate deals to send relievers Craig Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera to the White Sox. In the past, there’s been a lack of interest in trading with a rival team, but modern thinking has moved away from that idea and is much more open to any deal that makes the team better. 

We’ll see if anything comes to fruition before Monday’s deadline, but if the Cubs are actually open to moving Carson Kelly, the White Sox feel like the perfect landing spot, and the city of Chicago could soon be discussing yet another crosstown deal.

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