CHICAGO -- The White Sox push toward the 2024 season and beyond began following a 10-7 loss to the Cubs Wednesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, marking their fifth straight setback and dropping the South Siders to 41-62 overall.
Right-handed starter Lucas Giolito and right-handed reliever Reynaldo López, who made up two-thirds of the Adam Eaton trade with Washington in 2016 at the outset of the last rebuild, were sent to the Angels for switch-hitting catcher Edgar Quero and left-handed pitcher Ky Bush, two of Los Angeles' top three prospects. This move figures to be the start of an active week for general manager Rick Hahn with the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline approaching and the team mired below mediocrity.
“It’s impossible to prognosticate,” said Hahn after he watched his team allow a 7-2 lead to slip away Wednesday following a six-run fifth for the Cubs. “I don’t think by any stretch we’re done. But until you line up on the actual deals and everything gets approved medically, et cetera, nothing’s done until it’s finally done. I could be back at this podium again tomorrow, or I could be not talking to you until Aug. 1. It’s hard to say.”
Quero, 20, was the No. 2 Angels prospect and No. 65 overall, per MLB Pipeline and is slashing 245/.385/.332 with 13 doubles, three home runs, 35 RBIs, 39 runs, 54 walks and 53 strikeouts over 69 games this season with Double-A Rocket City in the Southern League. Quero is slashing .311/.447/.432 (23-74) from the left side of the plate.
Bush, 23, was the No. 3 prospect in the Angels system per MLB Pipeline. He is 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA and 33 strikeouts (11.4 per 9.0 IP) in six starts this season with Rocket City. Over his past three outings, Bush is 1-1 with a 1.84 ERA and 17 strikeouts.
Long-term positioning figures into the development equation for both, with Quero being one of the younger players in the Southern League, according to Hahn.
“So, to say he’s going to be on the Opening Day roster in ‘24 is a tick aggressive,” Hahn said. “Both he and Bush have the ability to contribute next year, we believe, but we’re certainly not going to rush their development.
“They’ll declare their own pace. Catcher development can be a little quirky. There can be fits and starts. Sometimes the offense is ahead of the defense, or vice versa, and you’ve got to wait for those things to even out. Very optimistic about the development path for both these players but not quite ready to put a timeline on them.”
Giolito and Lopez not only were major contributors to the White Sox on the field but were top-flight representatives for the organization and outstanding clubhouse presences. But with them being free agents after ‘23, it was a prudent move to add future assets.
“These aren’t just moves on the back of a baseball card. You have relationships with these guys,” Hahn said. “Lucas and Rey in particular are two guys we brought in with the goal of winning together and over the course of our tenure here there wasn’t enough winning or as much winning as we had hoped. That’s disappointing.
“You feel that for a little bit during the course of these conversations with the individual. Then we have to focus on the matter at hand and what our job is as we lead up to the trade deadline.”
Lance Lynn, who has an $18 million option for ‘24 with a $1 million buyout, allowed seven runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts against the Cubs in what might be his final start for the White Sox. Relievers Joe Kelly (club option for ‘24), Keynan MIddleton (free agent after ‘23) and Kendall Graveman (one year remaining on a 3-year, $24 million deal) also pitched Wednesday and could be pitching somewhere else by next week.
Hahn wouldn’t term these moves as the outset of another rebuild to what could come in the next week, although the White Sox certainly have key players in position to win in ‘24. They had the same players in place, though, for the past two years.
“Over the course of the next week or so we are going to make the moves that make sense and put us in the best position going forward,” Hahn said. “In terms of declaring titles or where we are at for the organization going forward, there will be plenty of time for that.
“We’ve been busy. There’s been a lot of calls. We’ve been, I’d say, fairly popular based upon the fact that we do have several quality arms, in particular, available, and those are usually what most contenders are looking to acquire this time of year.”