Let the Chicago White Sox's rebuild begin

Monday afternoon's nonwaiver trade deadline came and went, and the Chicago White Sox didn't lift a finger.

In reality, Sox general manager Rick Hahn didn't have any players left to deal after sending left fielder Melky Cabrera to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday for a pair of minor-league pitchers.

Between July 13 and 30, Hahn unloaded Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Anthony Swarzak, Dan Jennings and Cabrera in five trades that netted the White Sox 11 minor leaguers and veteran relief pitcher Tyler Clippard.

"Given where we are right now, these are the moves that make the most sense," Hahn said.

Trades can still be made in August, but players need to pass through waivers.

That shouldn't be a problem if contending teams would need a starter such as Miguel Gonzalez or Derek Holland, or a reliever such as Jake Petricka, but the flurry of deals probably is over for an extended period.

In other words, let the Sox's rebuild officially begin.

"This is part of the process," first baseman Jose Abreu said through a translator. "We're all buying into it. We just need to keep moving on."

The first steps are going to be the hardest for the White Sox, and the losses are going to continue piling up through next season and very possibly into 2019.

That's the price teams have to pay when transitioning from veterans to rookies, but Hahn has gathered up an impressive stable of young talent dating to December, when Chris Sale and Adam Eaton were traded for seven prospects.

"I think that we can still continue to move forward," manager Rick Renteria said. "I can't tell you in terms of victories and losses. I can tell you in terms of getting better, we will. In terms of their experience and knowledge and what they're going to be able to take advantage of, the great opportunities you're going to have right now for the remainder of the season in terms of continuing to find out who they are as players and what we can become as a team, I think anything is possible.

"But I think we also have to be cognizant that it seems like we're just in the beginning of the run right now with the changes."

Prospect watch:

Left-hander Ian Clarkin, acquired from the New York Yankees in the Todd Frazier, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle trade, is on high Class A Winston-Salem's disabled list with a strained right oblique.

Clarkin made 1 start for the Dash, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 5 walks in 5 innings.