Chicago White Sox: Five Possible Chris Sale Trades

Over the past few days, multiple teams have emerged as potential suitors for the Chicago White Sox in a trade for starting pitcher Chris Sale. So what would it take from each possible trade partner to land a deal for the All-Star southpaw this winter?

The Chicago White Sox have made it known over the past week that they in fact intend on listening to offers for some of their top players this winter, in an effort to make moves that will help create long-term sustainability on the south side of Chicago.

The most valuable asset that the White Sox have on their roster is of course All-Star starting pitcher Chris Sale, who has emerged as the hottest commodity across Major League Baseball over the last seven days. Naturally when there is a historically weak free agent pitching market, coupled with one of the best pitchers in baseball becoming available via trade, teams are going to start making phone calls.

Thus far the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals and most recently the Atlanta Braves have emerged as potential suitors for the White Sox in a deal to nab the side-slinging southpaw for their respective rotations.

The White Sox made it clear as far back as last July leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline that the price for Sale would been extremely high, and that they are not afraid to hold on to Sale if they don’t get what they deem appropriate in return. Let’s be clear: Sale being traded and what type of return the White Sox receive will set the tone and play a major factor in their rebuilding process, so the asking price is huge and rightfully so.

Chris Sale, 27, has pitched his way to a 74-50 record with an even 3.00 ERA over the course of seven seasons with the White Sox. He has accumulated 1,244 strikeouts to just 260 walks in that same span, and hasn’t finished a season with a strikeout total lower than 200 since 2012, his first full season as a starting pitcher at the major league level. Sale’s obvious rare ability coupled with his team-friendly contract, which runs through the 2019 season with the club only on the hook for $38 million, makes him a definite candidate to tax the farm for.

Let’s take a look at the type of package that would need to change hands for each potential suitor and the White Sox to strike a blockbuster deal this winter.