White Sox trade Sale to Boston for Moncada, Kopech, 2 others
Let the rebuild begin.
Months of speculation finally became reality on Tuesday when the Chicago White Sox traded ace starting pitcher Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox for infielder Yoan Moncada - ranked as the No. 1 prospect in major-league baseball - and three other young players.
The White Sox also receive right-handed starter Michael Kopech, outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe and relief pitcher Victor Diaz.
They say so long to Sale, who was 74-50 with a 3.00 ERA in seven seasons on the South Side. The 27-year-old lefty ranks sixth in franchise history with 1,244 strikeouts.
"We view Moncada as a premium position player, a guy who is going to play up the middle for us, be an impact offensively and defensively for us for a long time," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "And Kopech, we project him out as a front end of the rotation starter, the kind of guy that's pretty rare in terms of peers throughout minor-league baseball right now."
Moncada is the obvious prize for the White Sox.
A 21-year-old switch-hitter, Moncada was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America last season after combining to hit .294/.407/.511 with 31 doubles, 6 triples, 15 home runs, 62 RBI and 45 stolen bases in 106 games with high Class A Salem and AA Portland.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Moncada made his major-league debut with the Red Sox in September, going 4-for-19 (.211) with 1 RBI in 8 games.
Moncada signed with Boston as an international free agent on March 12, 2015, for a record $31.5 million. He left his native Cuba after playing two seasons (2012-13) for Cienfuegos. Moncada was teammates with current White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu in Cuba.
Kopech, 20, was 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 56⅓ innings with Advanced Rookie Lowell and high Class A Salem last season.
Kopech was limited to 12 starts after breaking his right hand in a spring training fight with a teammate.
In the Arizona Fall League, the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder went 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA for Surprise while striking out 26 in 22⅓ innings and consistently running his fastball up to 100 mph.
Basabe, 20, is a strong defensive outfielder who batted a combined .264 in A ball last year. Diaz, 22, pitched for low Class A Greenville last season and was 2-5 with a 3.88 ERA and 10 saves.
The White Sox were looking for a big haul for Sale, a five-time all-star, and they appear to have accomplished that goal.
"Rick did his homework," said Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. "He should be very happy with what he got in return. We're absolutely thrilled to have Chris Sale on board. We feel this gives us a chance to win now."
WHAT THE WHITE SOX GOT
Yoan Moncada
The key piece in the Sale trade, Moncada is the No. 1 prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com.
The Red Sox paid a staggering $63 million to lure the second baseman/third baseman out of Cuba in February of 2015, and the switch-hitter wasted little time making an impact.
Moncada, a switch-hitter, posted a .287/.395/.480 hitting line with 23 home runs and 100 RBI in 187 games over parts of two minor-league seasons. In 8 games with the Red Sox in September, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder was 4-for-19 with 1 RBI and 12 strikeouts.
Michael Kopech
Ranked as baseball's No. 67 overall prospect by MLB.com, Kopech has a checkered resume.
On the plus side, he reportedly hit 105 mph on the radar gun last season while going a combined 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 52 innings with Advanced Rookie Lowell and high Class A Salem.
On the negative side, Kopech was suspended for 50 games in 2015 after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. And last March, he broke a bone in his pitching (right) hand during a spring training fight with a minor-league teammate.
Luis Alexander Basabe
The 20-year-old outfielder provides needed depth in the White Sox's minor-league system.
Basabe split last year between low Class A Greenville and high A Salem, slashing .264/.328/.452 with 12 homers, 53 RBI and 25 stolen bases in 110 games.
Victor Diaz
The 22-year-old reliever gives the White Sox's system some bullpen depth.
Diaz, a right-hander, was 2-5 with a 3.88 ERA and 10 saves with low Class A Greenville last season. He also had 63 strikeouts in 60⅓ innings.
WHAT THEY GAVE UP
Chris Sale
The 27-year-old lefty leaves the White Sox with his name splashed all over the franchise record books.
•He's finished in the Top 6 in Cy Young Award voting in each of the last five seasons.
•He ranks sixth in Sox history with 1,244 strikeouts.
•He has at least 208 strikeouts in each of the last four seasons.
•His 35 games with 10 or more strikeouts are the most in White Sox history.
•Among active pitchers who have thrown at least 1,000 innings, Sale's 3.00 career ERA ranks first in the American League and third in the majors behind Clayton Kershaw (2.37) and Madison Bumgarner (2.99).