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Report: White Sox's Asking Price On Chris Sale Starts With Interested Suitors' No. 1 Prospect

(CBS) As the start of the Winter Meetings await Sunday just outside Washington D.C., the White Sox have made clear what they ideally seek for ace left-hander Chris Sale.

Chicago's asking price for Sale starts with interested suitors' top prospect and then much more, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported Friday. One executive referenced to Stark the Braves' trade of right-hander Shelby Miller to the Diamondbacks last offseason as a comparison, saying the White Sox want that and "at least two additional pieces," ESPN.com reported. In that deal, Atlanta traded Miller to Arizona in exchange for top shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson (the top pick in the 2015 amateur draft), young outfielder Ender Inciarte and a quality pitching prospect in Aaron Blair.

The White Sox shopped Sale ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline last season, but their asking price was quite high then as well. Blockbuster traded that include MLB-ready or MLB-proven talent are usually much more likely to get done in the offseason, when teams don't have to worry about parting with a key piece in the middle of a pennant race. Couple that with a poor free-agent class of pitchers, and all eyes will be on the White Sox and Sale at the Winter Meetings.

The Rangers, Red Sox, Astros, Nationals and Braves are the front-runners and most interested teams in trading for Sale, Jon Heyman of fanragsports.com reported Thursday.

The 27-year-old Sale has finished in the top six of the American League Cy Young voting in each of the past five seasons, and he's on a team-friendly deal, with three years and about $38.5 million left on his contract. He went 17-10 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.04 WHIP this past season.

 

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