Dave Dombrowski does it again. The Red Sox President of Baseball Ops pulled off a blockbuster trade to bring White Sox ace Chris Sale to Boston.
As expected, the deal was not cheap. Infielder Yoan Moncada and RHP Michael Kopech headline the return as two of Boston’s top-four minor-leaguers. Chicago will also get outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe and RHP Victor Diaz, who were ranked #8 and #20 in the Red Sox system, respectively.
In my (outdated) @baseballamerica top 20: Moncada No. 2 Kopech No. 4 Luis Alexander Basabe No. 8 Victor Diaz No. 20 https://t.co/CZygFntEb4
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) December 6, 2016
Despite the high cost, it’s worth noting that Boston did not have to give up any major league talent for Sale. The young core of Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Andrew Benintendi remains intact.
Sale has been a dominant left-handed starter for the White Sox since 2012. He owns five All-Star appearances and has finished no worse than sixth in AL Cy Young voting over that span. Oh and he’s still just 27 years old and has a team-friendly contract for $38M total over the next three years.
The Red Sox now have Chris Sale, David Price, and current Cy Young winner Rick Porcello as their top three starting pitchers. The 2017 outlook just got a whole lot brighter in Boston.
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