July 23 has a way of sticking in White Sox memory, and not always for the right reasons. Mark Buehrle’s perfect game in 2009 belongs in the franchise’s good-great-greatest file. Chris Sale’s jersey incident in 2016 lives in the other one.
Sale’s case was pure chaos. He was scratched from a start, the assumption immediately turned to a trade, and the whole thing spiraled for 90 minutes before the truth surfaced: he had cut up the throwback jerseys the White Sox were set to wear because he hated them.
It was the kind of episode that felt like it should have blown up an entire front office on the spot. Instead, Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn kept their jobs for seven more years, until one final organizational collapse finally ended the run.
A decade later, the White Sox look like a different operation in a few important ways. Back in March, there was a similar look back at L'affaire LaRoche, but then it was still fair to wonder whether Chris Getz had actually moved the roster far enough to survive the usual White Sox stress test. Four months later, the answer looks clearer: the club appears to be in a healthier place.
That shows up in the numbers, too. In Jay Jaffe’s annual look at underwater positions for contenders, the White Sox are included.
But they only have two spots in the red. One of them may already be settled, with Braden Montgomery in right field.
The other is catcher, a spot the Sox Machine Podcast discussed this morning with Erik Kratz.
The deadline chatter doesn’t stop there. Salvador Perez tied George Brett for the Kansas City all-time home run record on Wednesday with his 317th, and it’s worth remembering that three summers ago Bob Nightengale reported the White Sox seriously tried to get him. This time, the idea of adding a catcher wouldn’t be about patching holes for a manager in trouble.
The White Sox also show up again on FanGraphs’ trade value list. With one installment left, Colson Montgomery sits at No. 26, while Davis Martin, Miguel Vargas and Sam Antonacci are honorable mentions.
Elsewhere around the deadline picture, the Orioles have been part of the conversation too. Boston’s 15-game winning streak has grabbed the spotlight, but Baltimore handed the Red Sox that loss in another strong showing. The Orioles’ role in the pitching market has been discussed, though Kyle Bradish is no longer available after signing the largest pitching contract in Baltimore history: five years, $70 million.
Garrett Crochet’s shoulder issue is also expected to change the shape of the six-year, $170 million contract he signed with the Red Sox. If he spends at least 120 consecutive days on the injured list, his opt-out after 2030 disappears, and Boston would get a $15 million club option for 2032.
Luis Robert Jr. is back from disc inflammation in his back and, naturally, right back in trade-rumor territory. Building off reporting from Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon, Anthony Franco of MLBTR dug into Robert’s possible value in a market that doesn’t offer many appealing center field answers.
And in The Athletic’s survey of the deadline landscape, the White Sox’s path is laid out plainly. An all-in approach would mean adding a top-of-the-rotation starter, a closer and, as a lesser possibility, a right-handed batting center fielder. A more realistic version would target a mid-rotation starter and a high-leverage reliever.
In Other News...
White Sox Could Be Eyeing A Franchise-Changing Deadline Swing
The White Sox are being linked to a possible deadline swing that would fit the kind of long-view move a rebuilding club can still justify if it believes the window is opening sooner than expected. Analyst Jim Bowden has suggested Chicago should be aggressive in pursuing one of the games most dominant late-inning arms, pointing to a pitcher whose numbers have been elite and whose club control stretches well into the future.
For a team trying to stabilize its bullpen and keep building toward real contention, the appeal is obvious, even if the price would be steep. Any deal of this size would almost certainly demand a massive return, and while the fit makes sense on paper, there is still a long way to go before a move like this becomes more than an idea being floated around the deadline conversation. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Cannot Afford These Deadline Mistakes Again
With the trade deadline closing in, the White Sox are once again weighing whether to spend prospect capital on help for a roster that still needs upgrades in the rotation, bullpen and behind the plate. The names circulating are familiar enough to make sense on paper, but the bigger question is whether any of them actually move the needle enough to justify the cost.
Brady Singer is the kind of starter who can look like a tidy fit for a team searching for innings, yet the underlying numbers raise real doubts about whether he would be more than a modest add. Chicago has already lived through deadline decisions that did not pay off, and this time the front office has to be careful not to chase a familiar name simply because the market is moving. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Deadline Could Decide Whether This Run Gets Backed
A year ago, the White Sox were still trying to climb out of the kind of season that buried them in the standings. Now they sit atop the AL Central with a 54-47 record, a positive run differential and a real path to October, a turnaround that has changed the tone around a club that has spent too much recent history chasing respectability instead of first place.
Chris Getz has already signaled the front office is paying close attention to where this run is headed, and the next few days could tell the story of how aggressively the club wants to support it. The White Sox have enough in hand to justify standing pat, but they also have enough momentum to make the August 3 deadline feel like more than a routine checkpoint, especially with some underlying numbers still hinting at a tougher test ahead. [Read more 🡒]