Chicago White Sox stand pat at trade deadline
The White Sox are in great shape at the top of the starting rotation with Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel.
After that, they have two promising young arms in Dylan Cease and Dane Dunning.
And the Sox still believe there is a chance Reynaldo Lopez and/or injured Carlos Rodon can contribute over the final month of the short season.
Add it all up, and it's easier to see why the White Sox let Monday afternoon's trade deadline come and go without adding a veteran starting pitcher like Lance Lynn or Mike Clevinger.
Lynn stayed put with the Rangers after no interested team met Texas' high asking price of multiple high-end prospects.
The Indians did trade Clevinger to the Padres for catcher Austin Hedges and five young players.
"We had a lot of conversations, obviously," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "There were some conversations in which perhaps we were a little more aggressive than others. But at the end, it came down to not wanting to do anything that was going to compromise what we are excited about for the better part of the next decade around here.
"We feel very good about what this team has accomplished over the first part of this season. We feel confident in what this team is capable of doing over the next several months. But, just as important, we are excited about where this team is headed for the next several years. In the end, we didn't want to do anything that was going to compromise what this bright future looks like to all of us around the club."
Getting a talented starter like Lynn, Clevinger or Dylan Bundy, who stayed with the Angels on Monday, would have made a good White Sox team even better, but it would have likely cost them emerging talents like Andrew Vaughn, Dunning and even Michael Kopech, who opted out of the season.
"I will say, as I told you when we discussed Michael originally opting out, we still view him as a premium piece on a very good team for a long time," Hahn said. "So in order to be motivated to move someone like that, we'd have to feel we are having something similar walk in the door. We still think very highly of Michael."
The Sox are content adding reserve outfielder Jarrod Dyson in a trade with the Pirates last week.
"We weren't really that aggressive or that focused on things that were just simply going to be rentals," Hahn said. "We did explore a couple of those in the end. Obviously it's our obligation. But the pricing didn't work out beyond the Dyson deal the other day."
On Sunday, Hahn, White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, vice president Kenny Williams, manager Rick Renteria and an estimated seven veteran players met to discuss trade possibilities.
"We had a very candid conversation about where we are as an organization and the clubhouse culture and the chemistry in that clubhouse," Hahn said. "I have to say, I think we all came out of there very impressed with the environment that's there on a daily basis and the commitment of those veterans to maintaining that environment and their level of confidence in terms of not only what this team's capable of doing over the next couple months, but over the next several years."