The White Sox are currently in a three-way tie for first place in the AL Central division and reports clearly indicate they’re trading to add to the rotation ahead of Monday’s trade deadline.
Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel have been as good as any 1-2 punch in baseball, but looking ahead to the postseason the White Sox could become even more dangerous if they add one more piece that would cause opponents trouble in a short series.
There’s also the chance the White Sox are trying to trade for a starter who is under team control beyond 2020, to give the rotation at least some stability going forward with some of the question marks they currently have.
Obviously, the hottest name available is Rangers’ right-hander Lance Lynn. The White Sox have not only discussed trading for him, but according to Jon Heyman Robbie Ray may also be an option.
The names don’t stop there, as Jon Morosi also reported Saturday morning that the White Sox are among teams interested in Angels’ righty Dylan Bundy.
From those three names being linked to the White Sox, there’s definitely one that doesn’t look like the others.
The 28-year-old lefty has been awful this year and that’s after posting a 4.34 ERA in 33 starts for the Diamondbacks in 2019. Ray’s definitely been good throughout his career, but out of the current options available you’d think the White Sox would want a more sure thing to add to the rotation instead of hoping the lefty can suddenly regain his form with less than a month remaining in the regular season.
As for Bundy, the 27-year-old is a guy who seemingly has figured it out after struggling with the Orioles and battling injuries to begin his career. In six starts with the Angels this season, Bundy has a 2.58 ERA and 0.89 WHIP, with a great 44/8 strikeout to walk ratio in 38.1 innings.
Bundy also has one more year of control, as he’ll head into his last year of arbitration in 2021.
Lynn has been lights out for the Rangers this season, recording a 1.59 ERA in seven starts, striking out 50 in 45.1 innings.
But his dominance stretches back to 2019. Since last May, Lynn has 219 innings pitched in 34 starts and has been the second most valuable starting pitcher with a 7.2 fWAR, while posting a 2.96 ERA.
Lynn is signed through the 2021 season, owed about $9.3 million next year.
