White Sox Rumors: Would they trade their two best players?

It would take a lot to get Hahn to agree to a trade.

Baseballtradevalues.com’s trade simulator would not even let a mock trade go through with the number of players Houston would have to give up for the Sox to get close to equal value.

After manually calculating their trade values according to the site’s standards, the Astros would have to offer the following major-league talent…

• Catcher/DH Yainer Diaz (1.2 bWAR)
• Centerfielder Chas McCormick (2.5 bWAR)
• Shortstop Jeremy Peña (1.7 bWAR)
• Pitcher Cristian Javier (1.0 bWAR)

They would then have to offer the following prospects…

• Outfielders Drew Gilbert (No. 1 prospect), Jacob Melton (No. 2 prospect), and Ryan Clifford (No. 4 prospect)
• Pitchers Colton Gordon (No. 8 prospect), Spencer Arrighetti (No. 9 prospect), and Miguel Ullola (No. 10 prospect)

That is 10 players going back to the Chicago White Sox. It would be an unprecedented trade.

The Astros do have Mauricio Dubon on the bench to cover for the loss of Pena. Robert Jr. would be an upgrade over Chas McCormick.

Javier’s season is like Dylan Cease’s year. Also, Lance McCullers is out for the year and Houston would need Javier to pitch to a Game 4.

A lot of these prospects are nowhere near being ready to contribute at the major-league level. Plus, Gilbert, Melton, and Clifford all hit left-handed. The Sox can always use left-handed hitting in their system but these three could block each other from reaching the big leagues.

Also, Robert Jr. has a history of injuries, and the last time Cease pitched in the playoffs, he was getting roughed up by the very same franchise trying to get him.

That is why Houston must consider it a dream to get those two. You would have to wake up to realize it would take a ridiculous quantity of players to get those two and there are too many risks to make it worth it.