A Trade for Chris Sale Doesn’t Make Sense for the Yankees

By Brian Dunshee | Sep 18, 2016

The Yankees could use help in their starting rotation, but trading away the young talent they recently acquired would be unwise.

Much has been said this year about the Chicago White Sox making some big names available in trade talks, namely Chris Sale and Jose Quintana. The Yankees reportedly made multiple calls about Sale specifically before the trade deadline, although obviously nothing came of it. With the White Sox’s disappointing continued performance, those talks could re-open this winter.

Sale, who is 15-8 with a 3.03 ERA this season, is a contender for the AL CY Young award and Quintana isn’t far behind him. There’s no reason why the White Sox shouldn’t be asking for a huge haul for the two pitchers. True aces are incredibly rare and are perhaps the most valuable commodity in baseball.

The Yankees made it known at the trade deadline that they were going to do something that they’ve never done during Brian Cashman’s tenure as GM; sell. And, for someone who has never done it, Cashman did one heck of a job revamping the team’s farm system.

With these trades, the Yankees now have a deep enough farm system to go out and try and get an ace. However, the White Sox are not the team that the Yankees should be calling.

At this year’s trade deadline, there were reports that the Texas Rangers were in talks with the White Sox to acquire the left-hander. Talks fell through, though, as the Rangers were unwilling to meet Chicago’s asking price, which began with Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara.

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There’s no questioning why the Rangers didn’t want to meet that asking price. While Sale is one of the best pitchers in the game, trading away Mazara would have immediately hurt their roster, and they would have had to search the market for a new outfielder.

Trading Gallo wouldn’t sting as much, considering a lot of scouts see him having high bust potential, but the upside is unquestionable. Gallo possess some of the best raw power in the game, but a combination of a weak contact rate and high strikeouts rates could limit his ceiling in the MLB.

It was reported a few weeks ago that the White Sox had asked the Yankees for Gary Sanchez in a hypothetical Chris Sale deal. These talks came before the Yankees added talent and depth to their farm system at the deadline, though, and it’s safe the say that the Yankees don’t want to part with Sanchez any time soon.

This is pure speculation, but don’t expect the two teams to talk a deal again unless Gary Sanchez is in the deal. The White Sox have been vocal to this point about wanting to keep Sale despite their lack of recent success, so it would probably take a package centered around a player like Sanchez to hypothetically make a deal.

Another name who would likely have to be included is top prospect Clint Frazier, whom the Yankees just acquired for Andrew Miller at the end of July. Number two prospect Gleyber Torres might even have to be in play as well. A starter like Luis Severino might also be required to replace Sale in the White Sox rotation.

That package would be an extremely steep price to pay for a pitcher who, although he’s one of the best in baseball and is on a team-friendly contract, carries injury risk. The injury part isn’t even the biggest issue, either. If the Yankees were to trade for Sale, they’d be indicating that they believe they can compete right now, and they’re only a Chris Sale type away from making a playoff run.

Trading Torres in particular would deliver a huge blow to the farm system, especially considering the fact that Jorge Mateo has struggled this season. Severino’s future may be the bullpen, but the team is likely to give him another shot in the future to prove that he can still start, so it’s tough seeing them throwing him in as a third piece in a deal, even for a proven ace.

You cannot convince me that this team is one Chris Sale away. Would they be better? Absolutely. The back end of the rotation has been a question mark all season, and it continues to look gloomier as the days go by. But the pitching isn’t the entire problem. In fact, the pitching hasn’t been all that bad; it’s one of the things that have kept them in contention.

According to Fangraphs.com in terms of WAR (wins above replacement), the Yankees’ pitching is 6^th in baseball. Their xFIP ranks second in baseball behind the Chicago Cubs, and their ERA is 15^th. By those metrics, the team’s pitching has been good, but they’ve also been unlucky and the victim of some spotty defense.

New York’s offense has been the true culprit behind the club’s mediocre season . The Yankees are 23^rd in baseball in wRC+, and their company in those rankings includes several clearly rebuilding teams like the Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and Cincinnati Reds. Somebody ask Chris Sale if he can hit.

Any team would clearly be better off with Chris Sale on the roster in 2017, don’t get me wrong. The value that he brings is astronomically high. It’s just difficult to justify this current Yankees club doing it, especially at the price that the White Sox are asking. Surrendering all of that talent for one potentially fragile player just doesn’t make sense.

This current team is already demonstrably better than the one the Yankees had prior to the deadline, and there’s still more exciting additions coming from the farm in the near future. Clint Frazier could crack the big league roster next season, and he has a chance of doing it early if he has a big showing in Spring Training.

There’s no doubting that the starting rotation has question marks; it just seems unwise to mortgage a big part of the future to try attempting to fix it with one pitcher.

Next: Evaluating the Yankees 2017 Rotation Options

It may be more practical to trade for a number two or three pitcher, someone who will cost you significantly less but can provide you with the quality innings you need. For now, the Yankees should keep their top prospects where they are; just look at the Boston Red Sox.

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