The Chicago White Sox are at least contemplating a major overhaul, and the Boston Red Sox are among the potential trade partners.
The White Sox haven’t made any decisions yet, but longtime MLB insider Jon Heyman reported Friday on TodaysKnuckleball.com that the White Sox are at least listening to offers on pitchers Chris Sale and Jose Quintana.
“The Red Sox, who already have made four trades, are said by some insiders to be greatly interested in the star pitchers, especially Sale, but the list of interested suitors is expected to be extremely long,” Heyman wrote.
Heyman wrote there’s “no certainty” either pitcher will be traded, noting how much the White Sox like both pitchers.
Of course, so does the rest of baseball. Sale and Quintana are legitimate top-of-the-rotation left-handers — especially Sale, who just started the All-Star Game for the American League. Both have relatively team-friendly contracts. Given that and the expected amount of interest across the league should the pitchers become available, the price to acquire either likely would be very high.
Sale, a five-time All-Star who finished no worse than sixth in Cy Young Award voting in each of the last four seasons, is 14-3 this season with a 3.18 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 133 innings. The 27-year-old led the league in strikeouts last season.
Poor run support has hurt Quintana’s win-loss record this season and for parts of his career, but he does have a 3.13 ERA with 112 strikeouts in 123 2/3 innings this season.
Chicago also might look to move closer David Robertson. The Red Sox, according to Heyman, could have interest in him, too, especially given recent bullpen injuries to the likes of Koji Uehara and Craig Kimbrel.
ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden reported Friday that the Red Sox, despite already making a handful of trades in recent weeks, still are looking to upgrade their pitching staff.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports Images
