White Sox make 6 deals in days leading up to trade deadline

The White Sox needed to sell at the Aug. 1 trade deadline, and they did. Here's a look at the six trades the team has made over the past week:

1. Traded pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to the Los Angeles Angels for catcher Edgar Quero and pitcher Ky Bush.
2. Traded pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitchers Nick Nastrini, Jordan Leasure and outfielder Trayce Thompson.
3. Traded pitcher Kendall Graveman to the Houston Astros for catcher Korey Lee.
4. Traded infielder Jake Burger to the Miami Marlins for pitcher Jake Eder.
5. Traded pitcher Keynan Middleton to the New York Yankees for pitcher Juan Carela.
6. Acquired pitcher Luis Patino from the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations.

I'll talk more about these deals in the days ahead. The Sox are 43-64 heading into Tuesday night's game with the Texas Rangers, so there will not be much on the field to talk about. 

Maybe we'll get a look at a couple of these new acquisitions before 2023 is over. I'm thinking Lee and Patino are candidates to be on the roster soon. We shall see.

White Sox quiet as trade deadline passes Monday

Mike Clevinger

Major League Baseball's trade deadline passed Monday afternoon, and the White Sox made no major moves.

Sure, they tinkered on the margins of the roster, activating infielder Yolmer Sanchez and designating infielder Ryan Goins for assignment, but I don't think that's the move Sox fans had in mind.

The South Siders were rumored to be interested in starting pitchers, with Cleveland's Mike Clevinger, Texas' Lance Lynn, the Los Angeles Angels' Dylan Bundy and Arizona's Robbie Ray among the names mentioned.

As it turns out, Lynn and Bundy stayed put. Ray was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, and Clevinger went to the San Diego Padres as part of a blockbuster nine-player swap.

Given the prospect haul the Padres gave the Indians, I do not believe the Sox could have matched that deal. And, frankly, I wouldn't have traded that much for Clevinger, who has had some injuries the past couple of seasons. I'm not convinced he is the "finishing piece" the Sox need.

I would have been interested in Lynn for the right price. The 33-year-old has a reasonably priced contract for 2021 ($8 million), and he could have helped the Sox in the middle of the rotation both this year and next. However, I was not willing to part with any of Michael Kopech, Nick Madrigal or Andrew Vaughn to acquire Lynn. If that was the asking price -- and none of us here knows that for sure -- then I believe Sox general manager Rick Hahn was right to pass.

It is somewhat disappointing the Sox didn't add to their bullpen, given the more reasonable asking prices for relievers, Aaron Bummer's status on the injured list, and the struggles we saw the Sox have over the weekend trying to bridge the gap between their starting pitchers and closer Alex Colome.

Right now, the middle reliever that Sox manager Rick Renteria seems to trust most is Evan Marshall. Beyond that, he's throwing darts, overusing Jimmy Cordero and lacking a left-handed reliever that can be used in high-leverage situations. (Garrett Crochet, anyone?)

When I saw David Phelps move from Milwaukee to Philadelphia and Archie Bradley move from Arizona to Cincinnati for reasonable prices, I thought to myself, "Damn, the Sox couldn't outbid those teams?"

Thinking back to SoxFest, we all knew at that time that the Sox had four great prospects -- Luis Robert, Madrigal, Vaughn and Kopech. But beyond that, the organizational depth was looking a little thin. I asked Hahn in January whether the Sox had enough prospect capital to swing midseason deals to patch holes in the roster for the playoff drive.

Of course, he gave a long-winded answer of "yes," but it turns out the answer was "no."

Too bad, because the Sox are certainly in good position with 25 games to play in the 60-game season. They stand at 22-13 after Monday's come-from-behind, 8-5 win over the Minnesota Twins. They lead Cleveland by one game in the AL Central. They are 2.5 games ahead of the Twins.