Today Marks The 3 Year Anniversary Of The Chris Sale for Yoan Moncada/ Michael Kopech Trade
This trade was the birth of the now deceased White Sox rebuild. I wanted to do a quick breakdown of how it shaped up for both teams as both Red Sox and White Sox fans agree that it’s a rare blockbuster that worked out to a T for both organizations in the end. Yes, it sucked seeing Sale go at the time – he was the most entertaining pitcher I’ve ever seen when he was with the Sox. But the trade was 100% necessary at the same time. That said, I’ll never forgive the Sox for not being able to build around him, Abreu, Eaton, Quintana, etc…. not unless they win a World Series with this core.
Anyways, let’s break it down from both sides:
Red Sox:
They received one of the very best pitchers in baseball on one of the most team friendly contracts in baseball in his prime. Sale put up these numbers…
… on this contract:
Which is why anyone who trade for him would have to pay out the ass in prospect capital.
But Chris Sale was acquired for one thing and one thing only: to be the lynchpin in a Red Sox World Series Championship.
Nailed it. Sale recorded the final out in the 2018 World Series and notched a belt on what is hopefully a HoF career for him:
His current contract may turn into a disaster for Boston as he’s now on the wrong side of 30, but that has nothing to do with this particular trade.
White Sox:
The White Sox landed Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Basabe and Victor Diaz from Boston. At the time, Moncada was pretty much the consensus top prospect in baseball. There were questions on his hit tool, but the rest of his arsenal was lethal. 60+ grades across the board. A true 5 tool talent.
He struggled in his first year and a half in the league, but last year was one of the very best players in baseball. 5.7 fWAR, .315 batting average, .367 OBP, .915 OPS and was a fantastic defensive 3B. I hope to god they can extend him like they did with Sale this winter and he’s on the White Sox until he’s in his mid 30s. I think he can go down as one of the best players in the organization’s history. He’s that good.
Kopech? Was shelved all of 2018 after TJS but I truly think he has the makeup and arsenal to be the White Sox version of Noah Syndergaard. His arm is electrifying in every way. We talk ad nauseam about how “not all 100MPH fastballs are the same”. For instance, one 100MPH fastball can look 105 and another can look 95. Reynaldo Lopez is a good example of the latter, while Kopech is an example of the former. Look at how the ball explodes out of his hand.
His fastball just looks different, not only to us but to the hitter. I LOVE Lucas Giolito, but I think Michael Kopech will be the ace of this staff in due time. He’s that talented.
Luis Basabe, the 3rd piece in the trade, is a scout’s wet dream. Another 5 tool talent should he improve his hit tool. He swings and misses a lot, but he’s also played in a league where he was younger than league average last year. Health is also a question with him, but he can be another big league piece down the road, and any trade that returns an organization 3 big league players is extremely uncommon.
Fans love to retroactively look at who won/lost trades. Boston can never “lose” this trade as they accomplished their goal of winning a World Series with Chris Sale. But the White Sox made out great with this deal as well. I couldn’t be happier with their return at this rate and hope that, in due time, the White Sox can make the trade a “push” with the Red Sox.
But once again, it was a rare blockbuster that worked out perfectly for both sides.