Gregor: With desperate buyers, White Sox rebuilding ride could be a wild one

As Thanksgiving approaches and the baseball world continues to watch and wait on the Chicago White Sox, let's cut to a scene out of the epic movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" for some clarity.

Trying to get back home to Chicago for Thanksgiving, Steve Martin is stuck in New York City and he's not having any luck finding a taxi.

A cab finally approaches, and Martin appeals to the man who flagged it down first.

Martin initially offers $10 for the taxi and is rejected. He ups it to $20. The other man counters with $50 and after Martin reluctantly agrees, the response is: "Anyone who would pay $50 for a cab would certainly pay $75."

Martin wound up paying the exorbitant finder's fee because he was desperate.

As for the Sox, general manager Rick Hahn has been predictably vague about his off-season plans, specifically his willingness to trade starting pitchers Chris Sale and Jose Quintana.

Even before Hahn stepped out and correctly tagged the White Sox as being "mired in mediocrity" in late July, I had felt that trading Sale, Quintana, Jose Abreu, Adam Eaton, Todd Frazier and anyone else on the 25-man roster was the right direction for a franchise that last made the playoffs in 2008 and has stumbled through four straight losing seasons.

Hahn strongly hinted the Sox were interested in blowing it up and rebuilding in July.

"We have not ruled anything out, other than the rental acquisitions," the GM said. "We've spent a fair amount of time focusing on the here and now for the last few years and it hasn't paid off as handsomely as we hoped. So we have to stay open-minded."

The day after another agonizing disappointing season was in the books and bench coach Rick Renteria was named the White Sox's new manager, Hahn continued dropping hints of a forthcoming rebuild.

He was asked if the seemingly annual strategy of plugging roster holes and hoping for the best was still an option for the 2017 season.

"Frankly, we've been trying to do that over the last few years," Hahn said. "We've been committed to building through the draft, trying to retain some of our minor-league assets as we've accumulated them, but at the same time trying to win in Chicago. A lot of people have said that's a difficult errand to execute, it's a difficult path and one you don't tend to see throughout the game these days.

"You tend to see teams going for the full teardown. You saw many of them in the National League this year and you've seen clubs execute that strategy very successfully, including the Cubs. So I do feel that you see the template for picking one route versus the other, and you do run a risk of having half-measures so to speak when you try to serve two masters, when you try to serve the future as well as the present.

"We've tried that, and we've had obviously not the success we've wanted in Chicago going that path. We aren't going to shy away from it just because other clubs haven't done it. At the same time, we have to be fully aware and fully cognizant of the fact it hasn't worked thus far, and therefore something has to change."

From my perspective, as many of the Sox's trading chips as possible have to change uniforms this winter.

Based on their talent and club-friendly contracts, Sale and Quintana alone would return a boatload of needed young talent to the White Sox.

Trading Abreu would bring back at least two high-end prospects. And more young gold could be mined for Eaton, Frazier and possibly closer David Robertson and outfielder Melky Cabrera.

I thought the White Sox would move Sale or Quintana - or very possibly both - before the Aug. 1 nonwaiver trade deadline.

According to multiple reports, Hahn was asking interested teams like the Red Sox, Rangers and Dodgers for eye-popping packages in return.

The asking prices were obviously not met, which makes sense.

All three aforementioned teams were postseason bound and hesitant to take key players like Yoan Moncada (Boston), Julio Urias (Los Angeles) and Nomar Mazara (Texas) off their rosters.

That was then, and this is now.

Getting back to "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," Hahn and the White Sox have a fleet of taxis and there are many teams that need rides.

If the Red Sox are willing to offer three can't-miss young players for Sale, surely they can add a fourth.

If the Dodgers are willing to offer two can't-miss players for Quintana, surely they can add a third.

Buckle up, White Sox fans, it's going to be an interesting ride.