MLB Rumors: Chicago White Sox And Texas Rangers In Jose Quintana Trade Talks
With the MLB non-waiver trade deadline fast approaching, are the Chicago White Sox going to be buyers or sellers?
There is news coming from Fox Sports‘ Ken Rosenthal that could answer that question about the White Sox intentions. In a tweet, Rosenthal confirms that the White Sox have engaged in talks with the Texas Rangers. The subject of the trade talks is all-star pitcher Jose Quintana.
According to the respected baseball insider, the conversation between the White Sox and Rangers are at a standstill because of what the White Sox are asking for.
Sources: #Rangers have talked to #WhiteSox about Quintana as well as Sale. Same story: No traction due to differences in perceived value.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2016
The Chicago White Sox demands for Jose Quintana are virtually the same as they are for ace Chris Sale. ESPN’s Jayson Stark is reporting that the White Sox are asking for the top-five prospects from any interesting team. Stark quoted two MLB executives in regards to the White Sox wish list.
The first MLB executive acknowledged the following about the White Sox demands.
“They want your five best prospects, and that might not be good enough, because they want major league-ready pitching.”
But the second executive all but confirmed that the Chicago White Sox will make a trade if the right one is out there.
“They’re asking for a huge haul. But if they get overwhelmed with major league pitching, and controllable guys, they’ll strongly consider it.”
Enter the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers are in need of starting pitching and they have the prospects to make a deal happen with the White Sox. As Ken Rosenthal has stated in his tweet, both sides have a difference in opinion when it comes to the asking price.
It is not the White Sox who have set the current trade market. Previous trades including the Chicago Cubs exchange (courtesy of Yahoo Sports) with the New York Yankees for Aroldis Chapman began things.
The Cubs gave up two of their top prospects in the trade for a player who enters free agency at season’s end.
The White Sox sit in a different place than the Yankees. They have three more seasons of contractual obligations with Jose Quintana for far less money than the most backend starters earn.
Quintana is a No. 2 pitcher on the Chicago White Sox. He could be an ace on two-thirds of the teams in baseball. Also, the White Sox do not have to trade him if they do not want to.
Report: Rangers have talked to White Sox about Jose Quintana. https://t.co/GoLEBd0zXh pic.twitter.com/1kUy5yORMz
— theScore (@theScore) July 30, 2016
It makes perfect sense for the White Sox to ignore the Rangers’ overtures for Jose Quintana and look to build this offseason. They are comfortably in the driver’s seat with the hours ticking away on the non-waiver MLB trade deadline.
The waning hours to the deadline only helps the White Sox. There is little desperation to get something done for Quintana. In fact, the White Sox might look into adding to their roster in a similar fashion that the Texas Rangers did when they traded for Cole Hamels (courtesy of Sports Illustrated) last season. Teams that are out of the the playoff chase, or have long roads ahead of them do not have to be sellers. Last season, the Rangers found that out the hard way.
Left for dead in the playoff chase last season, the Rangers deal for Hamels was about having a top-flight rotational pitcher in place for the future.
The White Sox may want to do the same thing because they are close to returning to the playoffs. The White Sox can also entertain offers from the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. The latter would place the pressure on Rangers to do something with the White Sox.
The next several hours are going to reveal what the Chicago White Sox are. Will it be confirmed that the White Sox are buyers or sellers? We will soon find out.
[Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images]
