A trade market that already favored sellers was further shifted in their favor when the New York Yankees landed a significant haul from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Aroldis Chapman. While Chapman is undeniably one of baseball’s best closers, he’s a rental for the Cubs.
That setting of the bar put clubs with players who are under team control beyond 2016 in strong position to demand a substantial return for those drawing trade interest. Such applies to the Chicago White Sox and Chris Sale.
It’s believe Chicago is open to dealing their left-handed ace, but only if they receive an offer that simply can’t be turned down. The Los Angeles Dodgers are believed to be among the teams with interest in acquiring Sale.
According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, an executive said the White Sox are asking for a minimum of an organization’s top five prospects, with an emphasis on pitching, in exchange for Sale:
An executive of one team’s summation: “They want your five best prospects, and that might not be good enough, because they want major-league ready pitching.”
Another executive corroborated the belief that the White Sox are searching for Major-League pitchers in a trade:
An exec from another club described it this way: “They’re asking for a huge haul. But if they get overwhelmed with major league pitching, and controllable guys, they’ll strongly consider it.”
Per Baseball America’s midseason update, the Dodgers’ top five prospects are Cody Bellinger (1B/OF), Jose De Leon (RHP), Grant Holmes (RHP), Alex Verdugo (OF) and Frankie Montas (RHP). Julio Urias’ experience in the Majors removed him from consideration for the ranking.
Though, Urias is undeniably the Dodgers’ top pitching prospect and someone the club reportedly is willing to include in a potential trade for Sale. Even with the standard that’s been set in other trades, it’s difficult to imagine a club meeting the White Sox’ reported demands prior to Monday’s 1 p.m. PT non-waiver deadline.
