Chicago White Sox stand pat as nonwaiver deadline passes
The Chicago White Sox haven't been to the playoffs since 2008, and they are steamrolling toward their fourth straight losing season.
Before their July 21 game against the Detroit Tigers, general manager Rick Hahn admitted the Sox were "mired in mediocrity" and hinted at a rebuilding project.
The nonwaiver trade deadline passed at 3 p.m. Monday, and the White Sox still have their top trade chips - starting pitchers Chris Sale and Jose Quintana.
Both left-handers are among the best in the American League, and each comes with a club-friendly contract.
On the flip side, the Sox haven't won with Sale at the top of the rotation, and they haven't won with Quintana starting second.
That's why it made sense to trade one or both pitchers for a haul of young talent before Monday's deadline, and it also made sense for the White Sox to trade any and all of their veteran players.
They did not.
The Sox did send veteran relief pitcher Zach Duke to the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday in a trade for minor-league center fielder Charlie Tilson, a New Trier High School product.
Tilson is expected to be in the White Sox's starting lineup Tuesday night at Detroit, but he will be the lone new face.
Simply put, the Sox wanted large numbers of major-league-caliber players in exchange for Sale and/or Quintana. And they obviously didn't like the offers for players such as David Robertson, Todd Frazier, Adam Eaton, James Shields and anyone else not named Zach Duke.
"We had a number of conversations with just about every team in baseball at one point or another over the last week-plus," Hahn said after the trade deadline passed Monday. "But, ultimately, no other deals presented themselves that made sense for the White Sox from a long-term competitiveness standpoint.
"As we talked about a week or so ago, we approach this with a notion that we weren't going to be investing in any short-term rentals at this time and we were going to remain open-minded on any potential moves that we were going to make to make us better for the long haul.
"Nothing has changed in terms of our view. Where we currently sit is not where we want to be, and it's our intent over the coming weeks and months and going into the off-season to continue to be aggressive in trying to find ways to rectify that situation for the long term."
In late July, Hahn discussed the differences between trading before the nonwaiver deadline and waiting until the off-season.
"In theory, (before the deadline), you're only dealing with the teams that are competing," Hahn said. "Additionally, those teams that are quote unquote buyers tend to not want to touch their big-league clubs. They're obviously trying to reinforce it.
"So you're talking about the pool of prospects from the teams that are looking to add. That may not be potentially the time to want to deal. You may have to wait until the off-season to do something dramatic."
According to one source, the Boston Red Sox made a strong push to land Sale leading up to Monday.
The Red Sox have plenty of intriguing prospects, and they supposedly were willing to trade Andrew Benintendi, Eduardo Rodriguez and others for Sale.
Given Sale's caliber - and contract - the White Sox obviously wanted Boston's No. 1 prospect, Yoan Moncada, in the deal.
Come winter, maybe the Red Sox offer the White Sox a better package of talent. And maybe the White Sox are offered better deals for Quintana, Frazier, Robertson and others.
"I have said, and will reiterate, that where we are at right now, essentially in the middle of the pack, is not acceptable and not where we want to be," Hahn said. "Our approach of trying to piece things together to find a way to contend each year hasn't gotten us to where we've been able to have sustained success or achieve at the level we want to.
"So we've had a number of very open and honest conversations internally involving (chairman) Jerry (Reinsdorf), (vice president) Kenny (Williams) and myself about where we are and what's the best way to get to where we want to be."
White Sox vs. Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park
TV: Comcast SportsNet Tuesday and Thursday; WPWR Wednesday
Radio: WLS 890-AM
Pitching matchups: The White Sox's James Shields (5-12) vs. Anibal Sanchez (5-11) Tuesday at 6:08 p.m.; Chris Sale (14-4) vs. Michael Fulmer (9-2) Wednesday at 6:08 p.m.; Jose Quintana (8-8) vs. TBA Thursday at 12:08 p.m.
At a glance: The White Sox potentially were big sellers in front of Monday's nonwaiver trade deadline, but they didn't like what was being offered and declined to make any major moves. The Sox did trade relief pitcher Zach Duke to the Cardinals on Sunday in exchange for outfielder Charlie Tilson, a New Trier High School grad. Tilson will join the Sox for the Tigers series and is expected to start in center field in the series opener. On Monday, the White Sox optioned outfielder J.B. Shuck to Class AAA Charlotte. Shields is 3-3 with a 1.71 ERA over his last 6 starts. The Sox have lost five straight at Comerica Park.
Next: Baltimore Orioles at U.S. Cellular Field, Friday-Sunday
- Scot Gregor