White Sox Stand Pat On Trade Deadline Day
(CBS) After intense speculation and plenty of discussions with other teams, the White Sox did nothing Monday as the 3 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline passed.
Chicago hung on to ace pitchers Chris Sale and Jose Quintana, as well as closer David Robertson, right-hander James Shields, outfielder Melky Cabrera and third baseman Todd Frazier. Each of those names was believed to have been available if the right deal surfaced, but the White Sox apparently didn't encounter any of those offers.
The only deal the White Sox made in the days leading up to the deadline was Sunday's trade of reliever Zach Duke to the Cardinals for prospect Charlie Tilson, a speedy outfielder in Triple-A.
Moving Sale or Quintana would've marked the White Sox taking the biggest step they possibly could toward rebuilding from the ground up. There was significant interest from opposing teams in both, but the White Sox set a high price, and it's believed they wanted at least some MLB-ready talent in return. When buyers are in the middle of a playoff push, they traditionally don't part with key MLB players who would help in the championship chase.
It's far more likely that Chicago could pry a promising-and-proven young big leaguer away in a trade during the offseason should talks centered around Sale and/or Quintana resume. The Red Sox, Rangers and Dodgers all had interest in Sale.
In addition to their talents, the reason the price is so high for Sale and Quintana is because they're both 27 and on remarkably team-friendly contracts. Sale is under team control for around $38 million between 2017-'19 Quintana is owed about $38 million across four seasons from 2017 to 2020 if the team picks up the options in the final two years of his deal.
Entering play Monday, the White Sox held onto the slimmest playoff hopes, sitting at 51-54 and seven games out of the second wild-card spot in the American League.
"We're mired in mediocrity," general manager Rick Hahn said recently.