White Sox: Seize the Opportunity By Trading Dead Wood for Prospects

There is no chance that the Chicago White Sox can win anything meaningful in 2017. Whether they finish 70-92 or 82-80, what difference does it make? What can make a difference, though, is how far they are willing to go in finishing what they’ve started with overhauling the face of their team, in a city where competition with the dynasty-seeking Cubs is everything.

Perhaps taking a cue from the New York Yankees in deciding it’s time to get out with the old and in with a young and athletic group of players, the White Sox took two bold steps and traded away two of their star players in Chris Sale and Adam Eaton. The return they got from that is being lauded in baseball circles and they have been unofficially named by many as the hands-down winner of the just completed Winter Meetings.

White Sox: Keep the Ball Rollin’

But why stop there? Why not go all-in now by completing the purge. Because the alternative is to have a team that is halfway home with a blend of veterans and kids on the rise. That’s the traditional way of rebuilding, of course. Sprinkle a dash of youth in when you can, but don’t cut the umbilical cord yet.

I don’t know the ins and outs of the White Sox roster, but off the top of my head I can think of David Robertson (37 SV, 3.47 ERA), Jose Abreu (25 HR, 100 RBI), Brett Lawrie (.248 BA, 12 HR), Melky Cabrera (.296 BA, 14 HR, 86 RBI) and Todd Frazier (40 HR, 98 RBI), all of whom, while they may not bring in the haul that Sale and Eaton did, can still command deals for more prospects. Only trade for more young talent and don’t take any retreads or problem children, even if they are named Yasiel Puig or Lucas Duda.

The team is listening on Jose Quintana (13-12, 3.20 ERA, 208 IP), but he’s only 27 and he should continue to get better. So I would leave him out the mix. At least until you see if that progress actually comes about.

Come See the Future Now

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I can hear the naysayers already. Who’s going to take the field and play 162 games? Well, there’s a group of young players scheduled to take the field at Triple-A in Charlotte, North Carolina, and at one time at least you thought they were your future. So bring up a starting lineup and let ’em rip.

See what they can do. Pay them the minimum and save all that money for a rainy day. But the main thing is you get a chance to see what they can do at this level, and a chance at the end of the season to weed the garden. Plus, it gives them a chance to see what a Corey Kluber slider and a 105 MPH fastball from Aroldis Chapman look like up close.

The White Sox could even build a marketing campaign out of it. “Come See the White Sox of the Near Future Play.” Chicago fans are sophisticated and baseball savvy and they’ll buy into the excitement just as Yankees fans can’t wait to see Gary Sanchez play a full season and Gleyber Torres give Brian Cashman no choice but to bring him up, even if it means starting the clock sooner than he wants to for arbitration and free agency in the future.

See, that’s it. It’s the word future that grabs attention. We all crave for the sense of believing that no matter what we face today, tomorrow will be better. The White Sox have not had a future in years. And they’re not like the Yankees who can sell their past by retiring Jeter’s number today and then give him a monument tomorrow, and get away with it because he’s an icon.

Next: Yankees Top 10 Prospects for 2017

Ballsy? You bet it is. If there are any doubts, though, just keep saying over and over again: What do the White Sox have to lose?

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