ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Trades are being made all over Major League Baseball as the deadline at 5 p.m. Monday approaches. That includes the White Sox’ closest pursuers in the American League Central, the Guardians and Twins, who made deals in the last two days.
The first-place Sox have yet to join the fun, and led by general manager Chris Getz, they remained quiet on the trade front Saturday. Still, the players are keenly aware of the situation. Manager Will Venable made it a point to discuss the implications of the deadline last week at his monthly “State of the Sox” meeting.
Only a handful of Sox have been through a trade deadline on a team poised to make the playoffs. One of them is left-handed reliever Sean Newcomb, who was on a team that added and one that sold at the deadline.
It can’t be easy knowing that the guy with the locker stall next to you might not be there after Monday. How has he handled it?
“It’s what you make of it,” the 10-year veteran said. “I don’t think it’s anything that needs to affect us anyway. We know the reality of it. Some teams end up doing nothing, some do a lot. There’s a wide range of things.”
In 2021, Newcomb’s Braves acquired Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler before the deadline and went on to win the World Series. Last year, Newcomb’s Athletics traded Mason Miller, and the year before, they sent pitchers Lucas Erceg and Paul Blackburn packing.
“As far as the clubhouse goes, we’ve had guys talk about it,” Newcomb said. “There’s nothing you can really do about it.”
Indeed, but players think about it, and those inside the Sox’ clubhouse have their opinions. Where does Newcomb stand?
“I think everyone knows, even the front-office guys, if no moves are made, we’re just fine,” he said. “That’s the mindset that we have, got to have. We just know from what we’ve done so far.”
But …
“Obviously, there’s always room for improvement,” he said. “I think every team can get better in some fashion.”
Newcomb pointed to the fickleness of the trade deadline, too, specifically with the Red Sox. They got a jump on the trading frenzy, acquiring third baseman Curtis Mead from the Nationals just over a week before the deadline. But in his second Red Sox at-bat, Mead was hit by a pitch and suffered a fractured left wrist. He might be back by the end of the season.
“That instantly [put] them right back where they were,” Newcomb said. “That’s proof that there’s no need [for players] to put any thought into it, really. Just keep doing our thing here.”
But as Newcomb said, that thing still could use some improvement. Every team needs pitching. Only Sean Burke has consistently pitched deep into games, which these days is the sixth inning. And though the relievers have been lights-out lately, few have playoff experience. The Sox also aren’t getting nearly enough hitting from their catchers.
Those are needs that Getz could fill if he chooses to. That decision will give the players something else to talk about in the clubhouse — either the front office is going for it or it isn’t. This much is certain: The players are.
“This division is very winnable,” said designated hitter/outfielder Randal Grichuk, who has been through his share of trade deadlines in 13 seasons. “We think we’re just as talented as any other team in the division, and we think we have a chance to win it.
“It has a chance to become the second seed, which is a better route to go, skipping the wild-card series. If you want to throw goals out there, that’s a goal. We’ve played ourselves into position to have that goal, and that’s what we’ve talked about as a team.”