White Sox’s Trade Deadline Plans Centered On Expiring Contracts

According to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, the Chicago White Sox are only willing to trade players with expiring contracts.

Things could change between now and the deadline, but the report indicates the White Sox would be ready to move off Lucas Giolito, Mike Clevinger, Yasmani Grandal, Elvis Andrus, Reynaldo Lopez, and Keynan Middleton, who are all impending free agents this winter. Clevinger has a mutual option, but the odds of both sides picking that up are little to none.

Tim Anderson, Liam Hendriks, and Kendall Graveman have trade value but are under team control until 2024, so the front office will likely hang onto them.

Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn have team options next year that can be bought out for $1 million. It is hard to see the White Sox picking up
his $18 million option next season, but he also has little to no trade value with a 6.75 ERA. The White Sox will likely ride it out with Lynn until the end of the season.

Meanwhile, Kelly could be a valuable trade chip. His option is worth $9.5 million next season, and he has a 4.57 ERA. But with a 53.7 percent strikeout rate, 2.86 FIP, and prior playoff experience, some teams may be willing to take a flier on him at the deadline.

With less than 50 days until the August 1st trade deadline, Rosenthal’s report that the front office might only be willing to move impending free agents is significant news. The White Sox are in a precarious situation where their record says they should sell, but their position in the division would justify buying.

The White Sox are only 5.5 games back of the Twins in AL Central. It appears that nobody will be running away with the division anytime soon. However, getting back into the race would require a long stretch of consistent play, something that the White Sox have struggled to do for the last year and a half.

Even if the White Sox do snap off a winning streak, it will be difficult for them to buy at the trade deadline. Their farm system is weak and has very few players that other teams would find valuable. It is going to be hard for the White Sox to get an impact player unless they have a package deal that includes moving talent off their current MLB roster.

That’s not to say they can’t mortgage their future by trading one of their top-tier prospects, but it is hard to see Rick Hahn opting to go down that road.

There is also a case to be made to blow the whole thing up and sell after three years of watching this core together. With only one division title and two playoff wins, it is clearly not working. Given the number of teams still in the playoff hunt, there will be plenty of buyers before the trade deadline but only a few sellers.

If the White Sox decided to take advantage of the limited market, they would likely get a good return for some of their more valuable assets, like Tim Anderson or Dylan Cease.

Instead, they are opting to do a soft sell at the deadline. Currently, Lucas Giolito is the White Sox most valuable trade chip of the players Rosenthal listed.

Every contending team is looking for pitching depth. Giolito is a former All-Star who has posted a sub-4.00 ERA in two of the last three seasons. After a rough 2022 campaign that saw him post a 4.90 ERA, he has dropped it back down to 3.54 through 14 starts this season.

There have already been rumors that the White Sox don’t intend to bring Giolito back next season, so it may be smart for the front office to cut their losses by trading him. There is only $3.5 million left on his contract, so he is relatively affordable for any team looking to bolster their rotation.

Kenyan Middleton is another name that the White Sox could be looking to flip. The front office pulled him off the scrap heap this offseason, and the 29-year-old has far exceeded expectations.

In 25 appearances, he owns a 1.93 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 31.9 percent strikeout rate. Any team looking for bullpen help would be interested in those numbers.