With a little more than a month left before the trade deadline, the Chicago White Sox are in a spot nobody expected this soon: they can actually think about the postseason, and maybe even the AL Central.
That kind of turn makes the deadline conversation a lot more interesting. A club that won 41 games two seasons ago is now in position to consider adding rather than just standing pat. And even with Munetaka Murakami on the injured list, the roster has kept winning.
Pitching, though, is where the White Sox could use another boost. ESPN’s David Schoenfield argued that Chicago should be aggressive and chase a starter, rather than take the cautious route.
"The safe thing would be for the White Sox to do nothing at the deadline under the justification that they are still early in the rebuilding process and don't want to trade prospects for short-term help," Schoenfield wrote. "But why not now?"
The name he put forward was Freddy Peralta of the New York Mets, an All-Star arm who could become a major target if the Mets decide they would rather get value back now than watch him walk in free agency at the end of the season.
Schoenfield pointed to a rotation stat that sounds better than the reality. Chicago’s No. 14 ranking in ERA, he wrote, is skewed because manager Will Venable has leaned on different openers. The bigger issue is workload: the White Sox are last in innings pitched from their starters.
"They need another one. Remember, they're about to add the No. 1 pick in this year's draft (on July 10) to the farm system, so that might embolden general manager Chris Getz to part ways with a couple of midlevel prospects to add a pitcher like Peralta," Schoenfield wrote.
If Chicago does make a move, Peralta would give them exactly the kind of arm that could matter most once the games get tighter in October.
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