The three blockbuster trades - how have we fared so far?

[Lake Shore Drive]

When admitting back in the post season of 2016 that the White Sox were not going anywhere with their existing roster, Hahn & Co began the teardown and rebuild by engaging in a number of trades in that offseason and the following 2017 in-season as well. None were bigger than the three which saw the departures of Chris Sale, Adam Eaton, and Jose Quintana, in exchange for a boatload of promising prospects.

Of course the normal thinking when making such trades is you give up the present for hopefully a better future. I don't think any rational Sox fan expected immediate payback when we gave up our three most trade-valued players in exchange for a whole lotta potential, altho as the old saying goes, potential and 25 cents = two bits. Unless or until they produce, a prospect is nothing more than just that.

So how have we done so far, even taking into account that the majority of prospects we received remain in the minor leagues? Let's do a quick recap:

Red Sox get: P Chris Sale
White Sox get IF Yoan Moncada, P Michael Kopech, OF Luis Basabe, P Victor Diaz

Nationals get: OF Adam Eaton
White Sox get: P Lucas Giolito, P Reynaldo Lopez, P Dane Dunning

Cubs get: P Jose Quintana
White Sox get: OF Eloy Jimenez, P Dylan Cease, IF Matt Rose IF Bryant Flete

There is little doubt that as it presently stands, the Red Sox scored big time with this trade. As already stated, it's way too early to evaluate what we received, but so far Chris Sale is on pace to win the Cy Young while leading his team to what could very well be a trip to the WS. Sale has had a history of somewhat flaming out the last 5-6 weeks of each season and it was kinda looking like another repeat of such when he recently went on IR for a bit. But he dominated in his return back to the rotation with one hit ball and 12 SO in just 5 innings pitched. On our end, Moncada has shown flashes of brilliance, but so far he doesn't look even remotely close being the player once crowned the best prospect in baseball. Kopech has struggled big time with his full year in AAA, altho he has been lights out in his last half dozen or so starts. Here's to hoping we'll be getting the pitcher we expected in this trade. Basabe has some value and could possibly make the club as a pine brother. Not sure if we'll ever see Diaz wearing a ML uniform.

It's kind of hard to judge at this point who made out in the trade with the Nats, altho we'd be hard pressed not to say the Sox have gotten the better end of it. When healthy, Eaton is a force both with the bat and his glove. But he has missed an awful lot of time with various injuries during his short stay with his new team. On our end, Giolito and Lopez so far have provide mixed reviews in their respective performances to date. But any time you have 2/5 of a rotation resulting from a trade, it's hard to argue with that. As for Dunning, he was tearing it up in the minors until he was placed on the DL. Not sure if he's back yet, but at least his arrow is definitely pointed upward, and many are predicting we'll see him on the Sox roster no later than 2019.

The Cubs were obviously hoping for at the least a solid #2 rotation guy in Q when they surrendered their top two prospects. But he has been surprisingly inconsistent during his stint with them, more often than not pitching like a #4-5 starter at best. Again, we can't effectively evaluate who got the better of the deal, but Eloy is absolutely killing it in AAA, while Cease is doing likewise for his ballclub. There's a good chance that both will be called up in September, especially Eloy. On potential alone, this may prove to be the most lopsided trade in our favor, even if the two IFs we received prove never to be anything more than ballast.

So what sayeth my fellow diehards in all this (besides criticizing me for issuing a painfully long post)? How do you see the trades so far, and what's your take?

 

[richig07]

I mean, it's impossible to tell. Regardless, we did the right thing by selling those pieces. I mean, if I had to say... getting Cease/Eloy for Q looks like the best opportunity for a "win". As Q's struggles have carried over to the North Side. While Eloy and Cease are probably are most consistent producers at the minor league level.

Majority aren't in the majors... I mean, this is a couple years off of a true eval being possible. Even the guys who are up, we have no idea what they are. They've all flashed good and bad stretches. Not a single guy is a sure bet and not a single guy is a sure write off. All big question marks.

 

[idseer]

yup! too early to discuss rationally. but i also do believe we had to make these trades.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Oh I agree with both of you guys and said the same in the initial post. I was mainly seeking opinions as to how everyone feels a year and a half after the fact. Not so much as to whether Hahn should have torn down the roster and started over. To me that was a no brainer. We were going nowhere fast, so the rebuild was the ONLY course of action to take. It was more about how we feel so far about who we received vs who we traded. So far it appears that we may end up getting burnt on the Sale trade, but it's looking a hell of a lot more positive on the Eaton and Quintana exchanges. And I'm not writing off the Sale trade at all, but right now I'd say Red Sox fans are quite pleased who they had to give up in order to acquire Chris. Two-three years down the road, we'll see how it really panned out.

 

[idseer]

Oh I agree with both of you guys and said the same in the initial post. I was mainly seeking opinions as to how everyone feels a year and a half after the fact. Not so much as to whether Hahn should have torn down the roster and started over. To me that was a no brainer. We were going nowhere fast, so the rebuild was the ONLY course of action to take. It was more about how we feel so far about who we received vs who we traded. So far it appears that we may end up getting burnt on the Sale trade, but it's looking a hell of a lot more positive on the Eaton and Quintana exchanges. And I'm not writing off the Sale trade at all, but right now I'd say Red Sox fans are quite pleased who they had to give up in order to acquire Chris. Two-three years down the road, we'll see how it really panned out.

the red sox undoubtedly made the right move with that trade, even if moncada had been an immediate success. they NEEDED a sale and didn't need moncada or kopech. red sox looking at this year, white sox looking 3 or 4 years ahead. of the three trades you bring up i am fine with any two of the three being successful. 3 for 3 is a lot to expect.

 

[richig07]

Oh I agree with both of you guys and said the same in the initial post. I was mainly seeking opinions as to how everyone feels a year and a half after the fact. Not so much as to whether Hahn should have torn down the roster and started over. To me that was a no brainer. We were going nowhere fast, so the rebuild was the ONLY course of action to take. It was more about how we feel so far about who we received vs who we traded. So far it appears that we may end up getting burnt on the Sale trade, but it's looking a hell of a lot more positive on the Eaton and Quintana exchanges. And I'm not writing off the Sale trade at all, but right now I'd say Red Sox fans are quite pleased who they had to give up in order to acquire Chris. Two-three years down the road, we'll see how it really panned out.

I think both ourselves and the Red Sox/Cubs/Nats/Yankees (our entire bullpen and Frazier for Rutherford was also a big deal).... We all did what we had to do. That's how I feel a year and a half later.

So far as the Sale trade. I guarantee Red Sox fans don't have a single regret. However, we don't have reason to yet regret anything either. Sale doing well in Boston doesn't really impact win/loss on a trade for me. We traded one of the best pitchers of this generation... what did you expect? We all knew he'd be great.

Moncada has had his struggles, but also has flashed big upside. Kopech has been really dominating recently in Charlotte after a rough stretch. They're enigmas and we don't know how it will turn out. If one pans out into an all-star caliber guy or both wind-up good, solid players on a contender. That's a win for us as well as Boston. Neither has to turn out as an equivalent to Sale.

The issue with this trade was that these are two prospects that are big time hit/miss. Huge raw talent, but totally undeveloped. The dots could connect and they could soar... or they could come crashing down head first.

Cubs trade - Felt Q was more expendable than others did, even prior to his poor-ish 1st half last year. I never understood the haul we got for him. It was a Chris Sale type haul. People kept trying to explain to me why it wasn't a robbery... Q's contract... whatever. At the end of the day, I never thought he was anything more than a #2 and a #3 on a true WS contender. We didn't deserve Eloy and Cease for that. However, we got it.

Eloy's numbers speak for themselves. AA and AAA pitching is clearly no match for him. There doesn't seem to be "flaws" which still need to be mended at the big league level either, like with Moncada. Eloy just seems to rake and he's the most confident I've been in a White Sox prospect for a while. However, we all know that's a dangerous road to tread down... Cease has been super consistent and is also a guy who doesn't seem to need his mechanics overhauled too much.

Nationals Trade - I liked Eaton, but he was the easiest to let go. If Lopez/Giolito just turn into solid rotational starters. That's a win. It's very attainable.

Yankees Trade - The guys we gave up here were the easiest to let go, most likely. Frazier was dwindling. DRob is good, but had no future with us. Kahnle's fastball is enchanting, but he's not someone you build around. Not only that... he's been horrific this season. 7.00 ERA? Rutherford is one of the top 10 left-handed hitting prospects in baseball or so. We'll see what happens. He just turned 21 and is in A+ ball. A bit to go yet.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Yankees Trade - The guys we gave up here were the easiest to let go, most likely. Frazier was dwindling. DRob is good, but had no future with us. Kahnle's fastball is enchanting, but he's not someone you build around. Not only that... he's been horrific this season. 7.00 ERA? Rutherford is one of the top 10 left-handed hitting prospects in baseball or so. We'll see what happens. He just turned 21 and is in A+ ball. A bit to go yet.

Glad you brought this one up as well, altho I didn't give it quite the impact as the other three. At the time, my biggest regret was losing Kahnle. I thought his star was rising the fastest out of those traded from the bullpen. I was shocked at how far he sunk this season Is he even back up in the bigs again? I'm with you on Rutherford, way to early to gauge whether he has a big league career ahead of him. We're fairly stacked in the OF, especially if we keep Garcia and extend his contract. We definitely have some tradeable prospects if/when we reach the point down the road of becoming buyers instead of sellers. Oh, one last thing. I'm extremely happy that Zack Burdi is already back in uniform. I thought for sure we wouldn't see him till '19. I hope tho they take it slowly with him. TJ surgery is never to be taken lightly. This kid could one day be our closer.