Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
North and South. National League and American League. The Lovable Losers and Chicago’s second team. There’s not a lot the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox have in common, and there’s not a lot they like about each other either.However, both teams could benefit from getting along this trade deadline.
These two teams are in completely different spots organizationally, both in how they’re performing in 2015 and how they’re set up for the future. The Cubs are competitive in the National League and may be just one arm from being serious wild card contenders.
Meanwhile, the White Sox have underachieved this season and seem to move further and further from the first-place Kansas City Royals with each passing day.
It turns out that arm the Cubs need could be just a few miles to the south. Chris Sale, the 26-year-old White Sox ace, has been lights out this season, going 6-4 with a 3.02 ERA and 129 strikeouts in just 95.1 innings.
He may be one of the harder aces to lure away from his team this deadline, but if there’s any team that can do it, it’s the Cubs.
The North Siders are noted for their strong farm system, while the White Sox are lacking in that department. Coming into 2015, the Cubs’ farm system ranked No. 1 in all of baseball, while the Sox came in at No. 23 according to MinorLeagueBaseball.com.
If the Cubs shipped some prospects south in return for Sale, that ranking, and the South Sider’s likelihood of competing sooner, would increase. Of course, it’s going to take more than prospects.
The Cubs would likely have to include shortstop Starlin Castro, who is maturing at the plate, improving his plate approach and driving in runs more consistently in 2015.
On the South Side, they could use an upgrade at the position as current shortstop Alexei Ramirez is hitting just .219 with two home runs and 26 RBIs. He will also be a free agent this offseason, assuming the White Sox opt for a $1 million buyout rather than exercising their $10 million team option on his contract for 2016.
Castro would provide an upgrade at the position, and at a team-friendly rate. He is due just under $40 million over the next four seasons and has a $16 million team option for 2020 (with $1 million buyout). Therefore, he would be an upgrade for the White Sox from both a business and baseball perspective.
In terms of prospects going to the South Side, it’s uncertain who the Cubs would be willing to give up and who the White Sox would want in a potential deal. One thing is certain: if the White Sox deal Sale, they’re going to want a lot in return.
The Cubs have prospects like Albert Almora, Billy McKinney, Dan Vogelbach and Kyle Schwarber, among others. All of these players, outside of Schwarber, whom the front office views as emerging stars, would figure to be expendable.
Long-term, the future of baseball in Chicago could get much brighter if the Cubs and White Sox find a way to come to an agreement on a mega-deal this trade deadline. The Cubs would have four more seasons of Sale (assuming they pick up his $13.5 million options in 2018 and 2019), and the White Sox would get at least four more seasons of Castro.
As is so often the case, it may be hard for two rivals to make a deal with one another, but if they can pull it off, both the Cubs and White Sox will be set up well for the foreseeable future.
Here are scouting reports on the prospects the Cubs could send to the Sox in a potential deal:
Almora scouting report
McKinney scouting report
Vogelbach scouting report
