At the midseason break, the 50-45 White Sox find themselves in the most ideal place one could ask for: Tied for first with Guardians, in one of the weakest MLB divisions — second to only the AL West by a couple of games, and with their starters all healthy. For a team seeking to finish better than .500 with a manageable path to the postseason, Chicago is finally poised to be buyers at the trade deadline on August 3.
To outlast the Guardians and fend off the Twins and Tigers, the Sox must amend their
starting pitching deficit. The starters sit in the middle of the pack with a 4.32 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and .245 batting average allowed. While those figures seem acceptable, the club has allowed the third-most runs among winning teams in the American League (419). The culprit lies in a quasi five-man rotation that has yet to produce a reliable ace at home and on the road. While Davis Martin occupies that spot at Rate Field, his 4.72 ERA, .289 batting average allowed and 21 walks away from home nullifies his Cy Young candidacy.
Luckily, there are a handful of starting pitchers who can offer decent value before the leaves start to turn.
Michael Wacha, Royals
Affordable rental arms are hard to come by, but Wacha fits the bill. His modest 3.77 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 2.2 WAR are attractive, but his value jumps when factoring in his 12 quality starts and working relationship with White Sox pitching coach Zach Bove. Wacha’s dramatic drops in efficiency and accuracy are worth the tradeoff for his nearly 15 years of pitching expertise and upside he offers for two, or potentially three months of service. The Sox love dealing with the Royals, so why not get another trade done?
Foster Griffin, Nationals
Griffin is expected to be a hot commodity on the trade block. The impending free agent came back from a three-year hiatus playing for Japan’s Yomiuri Giants looking like a brand-new pitcher. Griffin went from a frustrating reliever, to put it nicely, to a more polished starter, earning a 2.77 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 109 strikeouts while pitching six or more innings in more than half his starts. Aside from two really poor outings, Griffin is one of the biggest stories of Washington’s rebuild under its new front office. The Sox must pursue Griffin if they’re looking to be serious competitors for the remainder of the season.
Logan Webb, Giants
If the Sox are looking to push their chips in this season, Webb wouldn’t be a bad option. Although the Giants will command a higher price tag for the 2023 NL Cy Young runner-up, Webb’s current pitching and resume speaks for itself. He holds a 3.44 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP, and his complete game against the Marlins is a strong indicator that the awful Giants haven’t taken advantage of his prowess this season. The Sox may need to overpay in a league where three division leaders have a three-game lead on the third-place team, but Chicago shouldn’t be sparing a penny given the shortage of starters with contracts expiring this year.
