UPDATE (3:48 p.m. ET): It’s official. The Boston Red Sox announced they have acquired Chris Sale from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for four prospects: right-handed pitchers Michael Kopech and Victor Diaz, infielder Yoan Moncada and outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe.
ORIGINAL STORY: For the second consecutive offseason, it appears the Boston Red Sox have landed an ace.
The Red Sox on Tuesday agreed to a deal with the Chicago White Sox to acquire All-Star left-handed pitcher Chris Sale, according to multiple reports. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was the first to break the news.
The Red Sox reportedly will send infielder Yoan Moncada and pitcher Michael Kopech, as well as two other prospects, to Chicago. According to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, those prospects are outfielder Luis Basabe and pitcher Victor Diaz.
Sale, who will turn 28 shortly before the 2017 Opening Day, is considered one of the best pitchers in baseball. The American League’s starter in the 2016 All-Star Game was one of the White Sox’s lone bright spots last season, going 17-10 with a 3.34 ERA and leading Major League Baseball with six complete games. He finished fifth in AL Cy Young Award voting.
The big left-hander gives the Red Sox one of the league’s most fearsome starting rotations. Boston can add Sale to the mix alongside reigning Cy Young winner Rick Porcello and 2012 Cy Young winner David Price.
There’s no doubting Boston gave up a lot to get Sale, though. Moncada, whom MLB.com lists as the No. 1 prospect baseball, is a toolsy 21-year-old who will give the White Sox position flexibility moving forward: He projects to move off second base either to third (which he played after the Red Sox called him up in 2016) or the outfield.
Kopech, meanwhile, is a flame-throwing right-handed pitcher who consistently throws well over 100 mph. Basabe, an outfielder, is listed by SoxProspects.com as the club’s No. 7 prospect.
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Thumbnail photo via Caylor Arnold/USA TODAY Sports Images
