Closing in on one month from the MLB trade deadline, the White Sox are expected to be one of the league's top sellers, multiple outlets have reported.
Speaking with the media, White Sox GM Chris Getz says he's been getting "peppered" with trade calls. He even mentioned he took some on Tuesday and expects more to follow.
But the White Sox aren't going to sell just for the sake of rejuvenating their farm system. Getz emphasized the value has to be there for the South Side to pull the trigger on a trade for any of their players. And if it is, they'll pull the trigger.
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"I know there's plenty of teams if we felt like the offer was to the point where it was something where we can't really wait around on, we'll do that," Getz said of accepting a trade ahead of the deadline.
But more than especially, the White Sox won't send away players like Luis Robert Jr., whose name has been involved in the rumor mill, without the right offer in return.
"The unlikeliness is really, does an organization have what it takes to acquire some of the talent we have?" Getz said. "Obviously, Luis is one of those players that he's such an elite talent. Is there a willingness from another organization to provide what we feel is the line, or above the line, to convert on a trade?"
Getz said in December that trading Robert Jr. was unlikely. Maybe that view has changed since then, but the organization's perspective of his value doesn't.
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"We haven't, certainly, devalued any of our players in what we feel like they're capable of doing at the major league level," Getz said.
Getz flashed the same mentality before the start of the season when dealing with trading Dylan Cease. Despite an underwhelming 2023 season, Getz held Cease to a high price in the trade market.
The price was so high, that Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos told fans in a comical interview moment the price for Cease was "too expensive." The Braves, for reference, own the league's fifth-highest payroll at just over $232 million.
In the end, Getz notched four top prospects from notoriously aggressive Padres GM A.J. Preller.
The White Sox received pitching prospects Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte, who were the No. 5 and No. 8 prospects in the Padres' system. They also got 29-year-old reliever Steven Wilson and 19-year-old outfielder Samuel Zavala, the latter of which was the No. 7 prospect in San Diego's system.
Getz says that trade helped him develop relationships with different organizations and their respective general managers. He hopes in other potential trades this summer, those conversations will help him in that regard, too.
"Being that Dylan was an attractive player to so many different organizations, I do believe it gave us a head start in regards to getting to know organizations," Getz said. "Whether that applies to Garrett [Crochet], or anyone else, having such a valuable player like Dylan in my first offseason as general manager has allowed me to build relationships with other general managers and get to know other organizations. So I do feel like we're well-positioned."
Another White Sox starter connected to the Padres is Garrett Crochet, as they lost key starters Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove to separate injuries. But for Getz, he was emphatic in speaking about Crochet's progress as a starting pitcher.
Crochet propelled himself into an up-and-coming starter so far this season. Through 15 starts and 82.2 innings, Crochet is holding a 3.15 ERA with a league-tying 116 strikeouts and 19 walks.
In Getz's view, the White Sox are simply focused on helping him through his first full season as a starter.
"When it comes to Garrett, more than anything we're focused on helping him navigate this season," Getz said. "He's just getting his career started as a starting pitcher. And he's proven to baseball, and the world, that he's one of the best in the game."
The White Sox value their players. And Getz won't stoop down to trade packages he feels are unfit to some of the talent other teams are keen on acquiring. So far, that's been the nature of how he does business.
However, the White Sox are still actively engaging in trade talks, meaning there's a stronger chance some players will be dealt before July 30.
"We do recognize that it's likely there are players with control in our major league club right now that perhaps won't be with us long term," Getz said.