CHICAGO -- Control was a key for White Sox general manager Rick Hahn when making a trio of trades for his American League Central-leading team over the past two days.

There’s control, as in late in games, with Craig Kimbrel, Liam Hendriks and Michael Kopech forming a seemingly impervious relief trio. But there’s also the matter of contractual control, with the Sox holding a $6 million option on newly acquired second baseman César Hernández for 2022 and holding a $16 million club option with a $1 million buyout on Kimbrel as well. So while these moves were designed to win this season, it’s not a one-off sort of situation.

“We were trying to avoid robbing Peter to pay Paul, so to speak,” Hahn said. “That came up a lot in these conversations. The control for 2022 is important. It's real.

“We aren't viewing this as a one-and-done situation by any stretch. We didn't view it as such when we started this process in 2016. We want to do everything in our power to extend this window and make this an annual event. Having the added control on both players factored heavily into the decisions to acquire.”

Madrigal and Heuer tough to lose

The price of adding a late-inning force such as Kimbrel became Nick Madrigal, who was the White Sox starting second baseman for the past two years, and right-handed reliever Codi Heuer. Madrigal, the team’s top pick in the 2018 Draft and No. 4 selection overall, is out for the rest of the season after having surgery to repair a right hamstring tear.

“Parting with Nick Madrigal is not easy. Parting with Codi Heuer is not easy,” Hahn said. “In the end, those were both key pieces from the Cubs' perspective in order to get the deal done. And we understood going into this process that the only way we were going to secure, especially Kimbrel, is by having the clear best offer. That was the cost.”

They said it

“I think Lollapalooza's going on right now and there was a little bit of traffic, so it took a little bit longer to get to the field than expected. My fiancée and I came to the field today and she got to walk around and see everything. It's going to be fine. No scooter. I can't imagine going down Lake Shore with a scooter.” -- Ryan Tepera, the <a href="https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/ryan-tepera-trade-to-white-sox" target="_blank" >newly acquired White Sox reliever, on having a slightly longer commute to Guaranteed Rate Field than he did to Wrigley Field

“Yes, it was a surprise. Never imagined I would be traded to a team in the same division. But it happened and I’m happy to be here.” -- Hernández, through interpreter Billy Russo, on being traded from the second-place Indians to the White Sox