CHICAGO -- After watching the White Sox dip below .500 again, general manager Rick Hahn is viewing the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline a lot differently than he did a couple of months ago.
Hahn said he will not pursue any short-term pieces who could help only this season, but everything else is on the table after the White Sox dropped five of six road games coming out of the All-Star break.
Hahn, who met with reporters on Thursday prior to the club's series opener against the Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field, said the entire front office is frustrated with how the season has gone since a 23-10 start.
"We're mired in mediocrity," Hahn said. "That's not the goal. That's not acceptable. That's not what we're trying to accomplish for the long-term. We may well have to adjust and take a longer-term view and take a different approach going forward."
Does that mean a roster overhaul might happen, including trades for highly coveted assets such as left-handed starters Chris Sale and José Quintana?
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Possibly, but Hahn said a number of factors will go into the ultimate decision. The most prominent will be the potential return offered. The White Sox top bargaining chips are all players who are under contract for multiple seasons, which likely drives up the asking price for each. Still, the potential is there for a roster upheaval of sorts.
"We've got to stay open-minded," Hahn said. "We're not where we want to be. We've spent a fair amount of time focusing on the [current season] for the last few years, and it hasn't paid off as handsomely as we hoped. At the same time ... the notion of, 'Let's sell off everything because it's not working,' might be a little extreme, especially if you expect to be able to put yourself in position to have a perennial quality product [within] the window of control for some of these guys."
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Prior to Hahn's press briefing Thursday, reports began to surface about the White Sox potentially being sellers on the trade market. Adam Eaton, Todd Frazier, Melky Cabrera, José Abreu, David Robertson and Brett Lawrie were just some of the names mentioned.
Sale was mentioned, too, as FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported that the White Sox turned down "a king's ransom" offered by an unstated team looking to acquire the ace left-hander. While Hahn didn't address that report, he did say that he's met with chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to discuss potential moves that could happen in the weeks and months to come.
"This isn't the first conversation we've had about this or the first period of time in which we've talked about the notion of a more extensive or longer-time horizon. Over the last couple of seasons we have not elected to go that route. We've instead been focused more on the immediate-term future. At this point in time, I'd say there's a very open-minded approach, not just from Jerry, but from the entire front office, about what is the most prudent course to get us on an annual basis to where we want to be."