The White Sox are going to be sellers at the deadline. Who exactly they trade remains to be seen, but a good chunk of the team could be gone once the deadline ends. The White Sox have a stellar opportunity to replenish their farm system and get young talent for a retool. This is even more true after some recent moves and reports, as it firmly establishes a seller's market.
Reliever Market
Pierce Johnson to the Braves is the one trade that has now set the reliever market. A reliever with a 6 ERA got two top-30 prospects from a team that has a decent farm, which is good news for the White Sox.
With the surplus of White Sox's relievers, they can make some significant trades and restock the farm just by depleting the bullpen. Trading 'pen arms is never a bad idea, as many of the arms aren't great every single year. Relievers usually have up-and-down seasons throughout their career, so it is always best to sell high on them.
The White Sox have a number of relievers that are better than Pierce Johnson, so when the White Sox begin negotiations with other teams, this should be the starting point and work to a much better deal.
If the White Sox trade Graveman, Lopez, Kelly, or Middleton, they should get a much better deal than the impressive deal the Rockies got for Johnson.
While they may not be shipped off by themselves to a team, they could be packaged with another player to improve the prospect the Sox get in return. Packaging a reliever with a starter like Lynn or Gio could increase the haul from a top 75 prospect to a top 50 prospect, which can make a difference.
Regardless of how they decide to trade the relievers, they are in a good spot to get some players with some upside in return for any of them.
The Rest Of The Market
Another report that is going to benefit the White Sox is that the Padres are not expected to trade Blake Snell.
This takes a quality pitcher out of trade talks, which can now drive up the price for any of the pitchers the White Sox want to trade. Teams that were looking to get Snell in a trade now have to pivot, and the White Sox are one of the likely destinations teams will come to.
When you take this report with the fact that Shane Bieber is now likely out for the rest of the season, the starting pitching market is quickly dwindling. This can now raise the price for guys like Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn.
This is why I also advocate for a trade of Dylan Cease, as he would be one of the more talented and cost-controlled pitchers on the market, which could potentially get them a haul. If they get a haul for Cease, they need to jump on that immediately, as he is unlikely to resign with the White Sox when his contract is up.
It will be interesting to follow the deadline, but the White Sox got a big boost from recent moves.
