As the July 31st trade deadline draws near, the Chicago White Sox are fielding calls in regards to possible trades for their players. MLB.com’s Scott Merkin on listed a few possible names that may be targets of trade discussions based on general manager Rick Hahn words regarding possible trades. Those names include pitchers James Shields, Joakim Soria, and Luis Avilan.
Starting pitcher James Shields provides the most trade value due to his ability to pitch deep into games as he has pitched six or more innings in 13 of his last 15 starts. The durability to eat innings is highly valuable to contending teams as it provides them with a quality arm that can also save a bullpen innings going down the stretch.
Hahn can get the most in return for Shields as the starting pitching market is slow as only Matt Harvey and J.A. Happ are the only other pitchers on the market that wouldn’t cost a team a fortune in trade. If Hahn is able to create a bidding war for Shields, he could possibly get more value than what Shields is actually worth.
Soria is the next player that provides high trade value as he had 14 consecutive scoreless appearance and seven saves from mid-May throughout the month of June. He would provide a contender a reliable relief arm with closer potential.
Avilan provides left-handed relief and could be used as a specialist in certain late inning situations. Similar to Soria, he would provide a team with another relief arm heading into the late months of the season and into the playoffs.
It was Hahn’s trades last season of relievers Dan Jennings and Anthony Swarzak that netted surprising returns including prospects Ryan Cordell and Casey Gillespie. Both were Triple-A prospects who ranked high in their team’s farm system. If Hahn can achieve the same success at this year’s trade deadline, it would immensely boost a rebuild that has suffered due to injuries this year.
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