5 Chicago White Sox players who should already be on the radar of contending teams

1. SP Lucas Giolito

Giolito was one of the best pitchers in the American League, and all of baseball, from 2019-2021 (3.47 ERA, 30.8 percent strikeout rate, eight percent walk rate), as he earned one All-Star nod and got Cy Young votes in all three seasons.

2022 was quite a fall from that peak, a loud thud even. He had a 4.90 ERA over 30 starts (161.2 innings), with diminished fastball velocity and strikeout/walk rates that both moved in the wrong direction enough to be noticeable. A .340 BABIP allowed pointed to some bad luck, and a 4.06 FIP confirms it.

Giolito is back in the right direction so far this year, with a 4.15 ERA over his first six starts (34.2 innings) and highlighted by a career-best 4.1 percent walk rate.

Giolito is in his last year under contract, making a fairly reasonable $10.4 million. The White Sox could decide to hang onto him, and give him a qualifying offer in the offseason to make sure they get a compensatory draft pick if he leaves as a free agent. That’s a fly in the ointment to the idea of trading him.

That said, Giolito might be the top starting pitcher who has any chance to be available at the trade deadline. The White Sox can always turn away interest, but general manager Rick Hahn should expect calls to come from a few contenders unless Giolito goes completely in the tank soon.