Levine: White Sox In No Hurry To Trade Chris Sale
By Bruce Levine--
(CBS) Plenty of speculation about an eventual landing spot for Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale will dominate the baseball news cycle the rest of this week as the start of the Winter Meetings await Sunday at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center just outside of Washington D.C.
The negotiating surrounding Sale up until now has been all about teams refusing to give up huge packages of their best prospects and young major league talent. All of that posturing won't impact the White Sox front office from getting the right deal for Sale, who's on the trading block as the team considers how to best build for its future.
The offseason is all about time, as some baseball executives daydream about what they would like their clubs to look like in 2017. The White Sox have a new plan that moves well beyond their expectations for the coming season. This is a different approach than they've had in recent years. In previous seasons -- really since the team won the World Series in 2005 -- Chicago has added players with the primary goal being to have a better shot of winning the big prize in the next season.
For the most part, the White Sox's starting pitching plan has worked well. Chicago had the most quality starts in the American League in 2016 and somehow still managed to finish under .500. The problem has been offensively. Consider that outside of Sale and fellow top-of-the-rotation lefty Jose Quintana, the team's longest-tenured players are outfielder Avisail Garcia (debuted with White Sox in August 2013) and Adam Eaton (2014). The organization's inability to produce position players throughout the farm system is what's driven baseball executives Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn to the point of accepting a rebuild. The restructuring is geared within the framework of trading young, controllable players -- perhaps the 27-year-old Sale and/or the 27-year-old Quintana -- for younger controllable players.
This is a different concept for sure. This new White Sox theory also has some baseball observers scratching their heads.
"Chicago has two of the top pitchers in the game under favorable contract control for the next three and four years," a rival baseball executive said of Sale and Quintana. "(Carlos) Rodon appears to have turned the corner as well. If they keep this young core of left-handed pitchers, they could be in the playoffs with just another move or two."
That was the thought of the White Sox in the the offseason following the 2015 season. They traded for third baseman Todd Frazier and second baseman Brett Lawrie. Chicago also signed free agents in outfielder Austin Jackson, shortstop Jimmy Rollins and right-hander Mat Latos. Only Frazier lived up to expectations, with 40 homers and 98 RBIs. Jackson was hurt early in season and never returned. Lawrie went MIA after injuring a leg in August, while Rollins and Latos were released.
Chicago executives convinced chairman Jerry Reinsdorf that the add-on concept was again going to be a crapshoot plan this offseason. As Hahn, Williams and Reinsdorf formulated a late-summer look at the future, they knew that manager Robin Ventura wouldn't be back. Collectively, they decided to promote bench coach Rick Renteria to manager at season's end, believing he would be the right man for running a group of young position players who they hope to bring in with future trades. With the Cubs in 2014, Renteria was praised league-wide for the job he did in helping develop shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Renteria also had handled players well in his first year as the White Sox bench coach.
Moving forward, any big league team with the right players and attitude can trade for anyone on Chicago's 25-man roster this offseason. The White Sox will even listen to offers for Rodon or shortstop Tim Anderson, though they're not very tempted to move them.
The most interested teams with their eye on Sale, Quintana and others include the Dodgers, Rangers, Braves, Red Sox and Cardinals. Blockbuster multi-player deals have been discussed with numerous clubs. The possible addition of first baseman Jose Abreu, closer David Robertson and Frazier in trade scenarios give the White Sox tremendous leverage going into the Winter Meetings.
Remember, the White Sox aren't forced to make a move now. This revamping of the organization could take two or three years before totally evolving. That said, expect Sale to be dealt this offseason. He's under contract control for three more years at about $38.5 million, and that will be intoxicating for top contenders who need a difference-maker. Sale went 17-10 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.04 WHIP last season.
For now, the White Sox remain patient. When they hear the right deal with the right players in it, they won't be greedy. They'll be willing to make a deal.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
