Trade Quintana Before Opening Day
Jose Quintana has been the most talked about trade piece on the White Sox. He is arguably the best pitcher on the market. As teams look for a front-line starter, Quintana is at the top of their wish list.
Chicago saw a massive haul for Chris Sale and Adam Eaton including Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and others. As the team looks to move Quintana, General Manager Rick Hahn is attempting to get the best value available for his ace.
The White Sox pitcher has been connected to the Astros, Pirates, Yankees and many others. Basically any team that has a need at starting pitcher and a deep farm system could make a move for Quintana.
The biggest takeaway from this section of Rogers’ piece is this sentence:
The White Sox general manager has been discussing Quintana trades nonstop since then, but he hasn’t been able to duplicate the Sale/Eaton deals, as the Astros have refused to deal outfielder Kyle Tucker (Pipeline’s No. 35 overall prospect) and the Dodgers have said no to all discussions involving Cody Bellinger (No. 13).
The Dodgers weren’t expected to be major players for Quintana, atleast at the moment. Their refusal to include top prospect Cody Bellinger doesn’t come as much of a shock.
Kyle Tucker however does. The Astros reportedly refused to including Francis Martes in any deals earlier this offseason. If they don’t include both Martes and Tucker, there is no way they could pull of a deal for Quintana. Tucker is a great prospect, but the Astros are overvaluing their players and devaluing the White Sox ace. It seems unlikely that both sides can reach a deal if Houston continues to have this ideology.
Rogers is right that moving Quintana is the next step in the White Sox rebuild. But if Hahn doesn’t get a top dollar offer, there is no harm until waiting for the Trade Deadline where the trade proposals may be better.
Add A Big-Time Amateur Bat
Rogers points out that outside of Yoan Moncada and Luis Alexander Basabe, both White Sox trades have been focused more on impact pitching rather than hitting. The MLB Insider thinks the South Siders could rectify that by adding an impact bat through the draft. He specifically mentions Brendan McKay, Pavin Smith or J.J. Schwarz as possibilities with the Sox 11th overall pick.
McKay is ranked as the seventh best prospect in the draft by MLB Pipeline. In 2016, McKay hit .333 with six home runs and 41 RBIs over 64 games. McKay is the second best position player in the draft. He played both pitcher and first base in college. Focusing on hitting could help him move quickly through the system and into Jose Abreu’s replacement at first base.
Smith is ranked as the 14th best prospect in the draft. He hit .329 with eight home runs and 57 RBIs in 60 2016 games. Smith is one of the best true hitters in the MLB. While he needs to improve on his power stroke, he has all the makings of an all-around great first baseman.
Schwarz is the 19th best prospect in the 2017 MLB Draft. In 2016 Schwarz appeared in 68 games, hitting .290 with seven home runs and 60 RBIs. There’s still questions of whether Schwarz will catch or not in the MLB. However he is an undeniably talented hitter who could be one of the first position players selected in the draft.
Any of those three would immediately be one of the best hitting prospects in the White Sox farm system. Putting him in the same lineup as Tim Anderson, Moncada, Zack Collins and others would give Chicago one of the better lineups in the league.
Rogers also mentions the idea of signing a top International prospect and names Luis Robert as a potential option. The White Sox have been connected to Robert in the past. He is one of the most dominant hitters in Cuba hitting .410 with 12 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 2016-17. Adding the International prospect would give the White Sox a dominant Cuban trifecta of Robert, Moncada and Abreu.
No matter who it may be, the White Sox desperately need to add another hitter to their farm system. Adding a blend of power to their potentially dangerous pitching rotation could lead the Sox to the playoffs much sooner than people think.
Be Aggressive At The Trade Deadline
Out of all of Rogers’ points, this one is the most obvious. However it is an important factor that the fans, and Rick Hahn cannot take lightly.
Players like Todd Frazier and Melky Cabrera are free agents at the end of the season. The White Sox cannot just let them walk for nothing. If a team in the playoff hunt needs another veteran hitter, they could turn to Cabrera or Frazier.
As for players like David Robertson and Jose Quintana, the Trade Deadline may be when their value is the highest. Teams will definitely need front-line and relief pitching. Quintana and Robertson may be the two best available assets in their respective fields. The White Sox need to take advantage and move them for the best value they can get.
The White Sox did a great job at the 2016 Winter Meetings. They need to take that same mentality into the 2017 Trade Deadline
Keeping Adding Kids As The Advanced Prospects Arrive
This is Rogers’ most complex point, but it makes total sense. Everyone is waiting on the arrival of Moncada, Kopech and others. But the team must also focus on adding young talent for when their top prospects reach the MLB.
Rogers writes:
With the roster cleaned out, the White Sox should be able to target positions of need and accumulate options through waiver claims and the signing of Minor League free agents.
If the White Sox prospects pan out how the team hopes, they should be pretty stacked on the mound and at the plate. The last thing the team will need to do is add talented filler who could be called up when needed.
Whether it be through the waiver system or by minor league signing, the Sox must add these little know players to try and improve their team. With their pitching rotation/lineup put together, they can afford taking a chance on a player with upside.
The team has already begun doing this by adding players like Geovany Soto and Cory Luebke. But once the team’s playoff ready roster is put together, they will be able to take more chances on higher impact guys in the minor leagues.
Obviously everyone will be paying attention to the Moncada show at the MLB level. But Rick Hahn must stay active and busy improving the roster inch by inch.
Open Up The Wallet After 2018
The 2019 free agent class may just be the greatest of all time. To list a few names: Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Clayton Kershaw, Zach Britton, Andrew Miller, Josh Donaldson, Daniel Murphy, Adam Jones, Andrew McCutchen, Hunter Pence and Jean Segura will all be available.
The White Sox NEED to sign atleast one of the big names. Adding one of the top free agents on top of all of the team’s top prospects could push the South Siders over the edge.
Imagine the team’s daunted pitching staff coupled with a lineup led by Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada and Bryce Harper. The White Sox would be virtually unstoppable and could be World Series bound.
It’s hard to imagine the team actually spending the $400 million it’ll likely cost to get Harper. But the team needs to pony up and bring one of the top free agents to the South Side.
Rick Hahn said the team would be willing to spend when the time is right. Assuming that is by 2019, then one of those aforementioned names needs to be signed.
No rebuild is necessarily “quick”, but these fives moves would certainly have the White Sox back in playoff, and potentially World Series, contention by the 2019 season.
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