Let's re-review the major rebuild trades

[Lake Shore Drive]

When the White Sox flew the white flag after the '16 season and began the teardown of the roster and subsequent restocking of the farm, it was done by a series of trades, specifically four of which were major and largely defined the direction the Good Guys would take in the coming years. There have been a number of evaluations over these trades in the past, but as is often the case, some need to span a few seasons to determine how the Sox fared in these transactions, and even then there are still work-in-progress situations with them. So that being said, let's take a look and see how these trades have fared to date:

Trade #1
*Red Sox get Chris Sale
*White Sox get Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Basabe, Victor Diaz
There's no doubt in the short run, the Red Sox made out and like bandits at that. Sale helped get them a WS ring, and it's hard to discount such an accomplishment. Plus for the most part Sale has been one of the top starting pitchers in the game. But this year has been a borderline disaster for Sale, who struggled all season, has lost velocity in his FB, and ended '19 prematurely with elbow issues. Meanwhile, after a slow start to his big league career, Moncada has broken out and started showing why he was once considered the #1 prospect in baseball. And we have him for years. Kopech's ML career barely got underway when TJ shelved him for at least a full season and then some. Assuming he comes back and regains the potential that could result in him being a top of the line starter, the long term outlook for this trade signals a huge win for the White Sox. And there's still a possibility that at some point Basabe also cracks the roster to boot.

Trade #2
*Nationals get Adam Eaton
*White Sox get Luis Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Dane Dunning
While the jury is still technically out on this trade, when it's all said and done, few will doubt that Sox will have ended up raking on this one. No doubt Eaton is a solid player, both with his bat and glove, a proven major leaguer. But now that Giolito has emerged onto the scene as a pitching force to be reckoned with, he alone would make this a favorable trade for the Good Guys. Lopez has been hot-n-cold during his tenure with the team, but he still has the makings of at least a steady ML pitcher - whether it's as a starter or the BP remains to be seen. Dunning is yet another victim of the TJ bug and we'll have to wait and see how he comes out of that, likely at some point in 2020 or 2021. At the time of the injury, his arrow was pointing upward. If we end up with all three of these pitchers on the roster, then consider it a huge win for us.

Trade #3
Cubs get Jose Quintana
White Sox get Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Matt Rose, Bryant Fleet
This was supposed to be one of those moves similar to the Sale trade which would benefit the Cubs tremendously up front, while in the long run the advantage would go to the Sox. Fuggedaboudit, this is already a major steal for the Sox. While Quintana has had some success with the Cubs, he's really been nothing more than a middle of the rotation pitcher at best, and really more like a 4 or 5 starter. Meanwhile Jimenez is already showing that he will be a South Side fixture for years to come with a powerful bat that will only get better with time. Cease has struggled in his rookie season, but has already shown flashes of that electric stuff of his and should be a mainstay in the rotation for a long time.

Trade #4
Yankees get David Robertson, Todd Frazier, Tommy Kahnle
White Sox get Blake Rutherford, Ian Clarkin, Tito Polo, Tyler Clippard
The least impactful of the 'Big Four' trades, but still worth mentioning. It was the only one of such that I personally was against, but mainly because I felt throwing in Kahnle was a mistake, as I thought he was the best pitcher out of the Sox bullpen at the time. The trade has been somewhat of a wash for both clubs, altho the Yanks nonetheless win this trade. Kahnle is the only one left on the Yanks roster. For us, the three prospects remain just that, while Clippard blew chunks during his brief time with us.

 

[richig07]

I would not undo any of the first three. I don't see why anyone would. Currently, trade #4 is the least impactful and we certainly haven't seen dividends from it yet (Rutherford was a teenager when we traded for him and just made it to AA). We weren't going to retain a top flight closer at Robertson's price tag throughout the duration of a rebuild. Kahnle was my only hesitation as well, but he's been far from stellar in New York. He's come around a bit this season after a putrid beginning. Frazier was a rental for them who didn't really get much done.

I can't see anyone arguing against #2 or #3. I could have seen somebody failing to see the bigger picture and arguing #1 a few months back. But now that Sale is undergoing TJ and saw a decline this year prior to that. While Moncada absolutely broke out? I don't know why someone would think we should have maxed out paying for Sale, foregoing Moncada/Kopech and holding onto a pitcher whose prime might be over before our contending window. I mean, if Kopech comes back and continues building on what was a very nice start to his big league career with us. Becoming the stud he's projected to be... man... this is another total rake by the Sox.

This season was a big ole win for me because we developed and saw huge promise from the prospects we got in these deals at the big league level. Not to mention, another big piece in Tim Anderson looks primed to win a batting title. The core is starting to form. And Kopech, Robert and Madrigal (and a few others) are still coming.

 

[Jiddy]

Ha ha...I might have to refrain from this thread or idseer's going to double ignore me.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Feel free to weigh in Jidster. That's what these posts are for, so that Sox fans can voice their opinions on things Southside.

 

[idseer]

i can't disagree with anything you said lsd. 1,2 and 3 are no brainers imo. even if sale eventually returns with decent success. and #4 ... i don't even care about. was a normal kind of trade that teams do all the time. it was just a bonus we dumped frazier in that one.
all i can say is i'm happy that even tho the season felt like another disaster there seems to be a bright outlook for the team. it's been a LONG freaking time since i could say that.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I actually agree with both you and rich, id. That 4th trade wasn't really all that major. The only reason I included it is because it was part of the Sox planned teardown of the then-existing roster for the purpose of restocking their farm. By the time this particular transaction took place, most of the key players had already been shipped out, but Hahn and Co still wanted more prospects for the rebuild, hence the trade and hence the reason for lumping it with the others, despite its lesser importance.