At this point, I am sure the idea is nothing but a thought, but what if?
With the Aroldis Chapman deal, the Chicago Cubs made it official that anything less than a World Series championship this year would be considered failure. While the Chapman deal added some much-needed firepower to the bullpen, what better way to add insurance could you possibly create than adding a pitcher of Chris Sale’s caliber to the starting rotation?
Up to this point, Theo Epstein has made it clear that Schwarber was off limits. Even ESPN themselves say that Schwarber is untouchable. But we are talking about adding Chris Sale.
Not only would he do significant damage on the mound for the Cubs right now, Chicago would have control of Sale at attractive rates for the next three years after this season.
Jim Bowden of ESPN thinks if the Chicago Cubs were willing to deal away Schwarber along with a couple prospects, say, Jeimer Candelario, Ian Happ, and possibly Kyle Hendricks, they would have the full attention of the South Side ball team.
The Cubs would have a rotation that included Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, John Lackey and 14-3 Chris Sale. And guess who’s in the bullpen with some 103 mph heat waiting to wrap things up?
Sale has an ERA of 3.18, has thrown for 129 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.01 this year. The three losses he has could have easily gone the other way had he been backed up by a decent lineup in the batter’s box.
The White Sox have made it clear it’s going to take something huge to get a deal done for Chris Sale. Theo Epstein has made it clear that Schwarber has huge value to the Cubs. My only question is would Arrieta still be the ace in a rotation that featured Chris Sale?
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