Levine: Rick Hahn, White Sox Transform Farm System In Span Of 30 Hours
By Bruce Levine--
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (CBS) -- The White Sox are on the way up the ladder of minor league systems.
Within a span of about 30 hours spanning Tuesday and into late Wednesday afternoon, general manager Rick Hahn transformed an organization that had previously ranked often in the bottom five of farm systems into a one that's among the 10 richest in minor league talent. Hahn did so with headlining trades of ace left-hander Chris Sale to the Red Sox and outfielder Adam Eaton to the Nationals. The moves netted Chicago seven prospects, highlighted by 21-year-old second baseman Yoan Moncada (MLB.com's No. 1 prospect) and 22-year-old right-hander Lucas Giolito (No. 3).
Along with Giolito, the White Sox also received from the Nationals right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (No. 38 prospect) and right-hander Dane Dunning (a 2016 first-round pick).
All three pitchers have big upside. Couple that with Moncada and right-hander Michael Kopech being acquired Tuesday from the Red Sox, and that's quite the haul for the White Sox in a short period of time. It all adds up to a good first step in a rebuild.
"We are very pleased with the way this has started," Hahn said Wednesday at the Winter Meetings after the Eaton trade became official. "However, we are far closer to the beginning than we are to the end of this process. If I had my choice, we would have three more of these (deals) done before we leave here. In reality, our desire to move this process along is not what will dictate the pace. What will dictate the process will be the value of our players and the potential return that we get fitting into our long-term plan."
The next players to be dealt off the White Sox will likely be third baseman Todd Frazier and closer David Robertson. The 30-year-old Frazier plays solid defense and is coming off a season in which he hit 40 homers with 98 RBIs, so he should be popular on the trade front. He's likely to earn around $15 million in arbitration ahead of the 2017 season, after which he'll be a free agent.
The 31-year-old Robertson is coming off a season in which he had a 3.47 ERA, a 10.8 strikeout/nine innings rate and 37 saves. He also should garner plenty of interest. Free-agent closers Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Janssen are expected to receive deals in the ballpark of five years and $90 million. Those that can't afford that could then turn to Robertson, who figures to look good to any contending team. He's owed $25 million over the next two seasons.
The Nationals may turn out to be the team bidding on Robertson.
As for the White Sox, Hahn cautioned not to get ahead of the rebuild story and its timetable.
"There may well be nothing else we accomplish down here," Hahn said of the Winter Meetings. "There may not be anything else until after the holidays or through the trade deadline, even into next offseason. We are taking a longer-term view, and we are going to do this deliberately and with reason and logic. We will react accordingly to the market. We are open and eager for what happened today in this trade to happen again. If it doesn't, we will be patient and move when the time is right."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.