White Sox GM on trade talks: 'The chatter has ramped up'

CHICAGO — White Sox general manager Rick Hahn was not about to talk almost any specific thespian potentially holding interest for his team as of Aug. two Trade Deadline approaches.

That edict included players on other teams, of class, or even a actor on the open marketplace such as outfielder Michael Conforto. So, when Hahn met with the media Fri afternoon and was asked well-nigh a player of Juan Soto's excellence and expected high bacon point to extend holding interest, he took a roundabout way of notwithstanding making his signal.

"How should I put this?" Hahn said. "I will say historically, as long as I've been here working for [White Sox chairman] jerry [Reinsdorf] and [executive vice president] Kenny [Williams]at that place hasn't been a premium player that inverse teams that we haven't at to the lowest degree had a conversation nearly.

"Y'all were probably, and this is my fault, nosotros may have been a little likewise forthright or upfront in very recent premium gratuitous agent pursuits that led to fans being frustrated when we didn't wind up converting on them. And then I think at this point, I'm going to err on the side of that White Sox stealth mode … and if nosotros make the deal, I'll happily explain how it all came together."

That premium costless amanuensis listing would include third baseman Manny Machado, correct-handed starter Zack Wheeler and outfielder Bryce Harper, players the White Sox pursued at some level over the past few years merely somewhen went elsewhere. Any team acquiring Soto, if the Nationals determine to move him, would have a petty more than two years of control before he entered gratis agency.

All of this Soto talk is primarily hypothetical at this bespeak. But Hahn did speak Friday about potential changes for a team entering the start of the 2d half trailing the Twins by 3 games in the American League Central. They were centered on areas of no surprise.

"Every team in baseball, whether they're in it or not, never feels similar they have enough pitching and we're certainly not immune to that, primarily in the bullpen," Hahn said. "Obviously, Aaron Bummer has been absent for a while. He'southward starting to make some progress and we do project a return at some point, merely that's not guaranteed.

"So I would say pitcher's probably the nearly obvious need. I think if you await at our offensive and defensive performance over the grade of the year, the performances at second base and correct field haven't quite been what we would promise. That said, if you wait at what Josh Harrison has done since June 1, and you look at what Gavin Sheets has done since he returned from the Minors, those both could potentially be solutions there. We'll take to wait and come across."

The White Sox are a stronger criminal offence confronting left-handed pitching, then a left-handed bat would help. Hahn wouldn't even rule out a starting pitching add-on, although the White Sox are pretty well set with Lucas Giolito, Dylan Finish, Johnny Cueto, Lance Lynn and Michael Kopech, even with Kopech's workload being watched every bit the season progresses, and Hahn doesn't I don't see a great deal of volume in that market.

Hahn also won't wait to make a move, gauging if a team currently in contention falls out in the next few weeks, if the bargain makes sense and makes a departure.

"If nosotros notice the right bargain for a player we recollect is impactful, nosotros are going to desire to pull the trigger on information technology when information technology'southward bachelor to us and non wait around," Hahn said. "Take that bird in the hand vs. the 2 in the bush.

"With that said, it strikes me that more teams are in it, the added playoff spots, that a lot of these decisions might come up down to the Deadline so teams know exactly where they sit down. … The chatter has ramped up since Monday. I can't tell y'all it's because the Draft is over and nosotros tin only focus on ane matter at a time as much as we're within a couple weeks of the Deadline, so it's only natural teams ramp up."

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Source: https://kqeducationgroup.com/white-sox-gm-rick-hahn-discusses-trade-deadline/

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