Did the Chicago White Sox overpay for Lance Lynn?

The Chicago White Sox paid a hefty price for Lance Lynn.

Chicago White Sox fans that went to bed early woke up to some exciting and surprising news. Overnight, word broke that the team had traded for Texas Rangers starting pitcher Lance Lynn. The deal involved sending right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning and left-handed pitcher Avery Weems.

There is no question the move upgrades the White Sox rotation next season, but did they pay too hefty of a price for Lynn’s services? Well, that depends. Primarily it depends on your opinion on how close the White Sox are to competing for a World Series.

If you think the White Sox are legitimate contenders in 2021, then the answer is likely ‘no, they didn’t overpay.’ If your answer is ‘they may contend, but are likely a couple of years away,’ then, unfortunately, the price was likely too high.

That’s because the Sox are only getting one year of control of Lynn, whose contract is up after 2021 (absent an extension). In Dunning, the South Siders gave up a young pitcher, who is under control for the next six years and is regarded as either the fifth or sixth-ranked prospect in the organization, depending on which service you subscribe to.

That’s an awful lot of team control to give up for the Sox. Now granted, they have a ton of salary cap space, so that may not be a huge concern at the moment. However, giving up a young, controllable starter could come back to bite them, if Lynn doesn’t put them over the top next season.

As we have seen with teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, young, controllable starters can be the cornerstone of your roster, and if the Sox don’t find a way to extend Lynn, and he walks without helping bring a World Series to the South Side, fans will wonder whether the price was too high. That could be exacerbated even further if Dunning goes on to have a long successful career in Texas, and helps form the foundation of a sustained run for the Rangers.

At this point, you have to tip your cap to the aggressiveness of the Sox. The move sends a message to the players that the organization believes in them and their chances to win next year. But as always, we will simply have to wait and see whether it was worth it.