The Chicago White Sox completed a surprising trade on Friday, sending reliever Craig Kimbrel to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for outfielder AJ Pollock.
Pollock is capable of playing center field, but is better suited to one of the outfield corners at this point in his career.
Chicago secures a solid, starting-caliber bat to their lineup by bringing in Pollock.
They may not be done adding to their roster, however.
According to MLB insider Bob Nightengale, there is a pitcher they would love to add to their starting rotation before Opening Day arrives on April 7.
“The Chicago #WhiteSox would also love to acquire Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea before opening day, joining plenty of other teams who are in pursuit,” he tweeted.
The Chicago #WhiteSox would also love to acquire Oakland A's starter Sean Manaea before opening day, joining plenty of other teams who are in pursuit.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 1, 2022
Manaea Would Be A Nice Addition To The White Sox Rotation
The Athletics are said to be discussing trade terms with many teams about Manaea, who will be a free agent after 2022.
In fact, the A’s also have another chip in Frankie Montas, but since he is a free agent after 2023 and not this year, they can wait until completing a deal.
Manaea, who is 30 years old, made 32 starts last year and covered 179.1 innings.
He had a solid 3.91 ERA, with a 3.66 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP).
He was very valuable, accumulating 3.3 Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
The left-hander is not an ace, but the White Sox don’t need one: they need a solid mid-rotation pitcher, and Manaea fills that description.
The White Sox have Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, Dallas Keuchel, and Michael Kopech penciled for the rotation, but ideally, they would like to replace the declining Keuchel.
There is still time for both teams to negotiate a deal, so anything is possible.
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