One MLB insider's latest mock trade would make the White Sox better in the short term, but it comes at a price Chris Getz is unlikely to pay.
As we approach the end of June, MLB trade rumors are just getting started. And the closer we get to the deadline with the Chicago White Sox sitting in first place in the AL Central, the more we'll begin to see the White Sox connected to some of the biggest names on the trade market.
ESPN's Jeff Passan has already linked the White Sox to many of the top trade candidates at this year's deadline. We know Chicago is tentatively willing to buy. We know that pitching is what they covet most. But what we don't know is how aggressive GM Chris Getz is willing to be.
More than anything, I think the White Sox are going to be focused on control in any potential deal. Jeopardizing the future for one possible playoff run is not in the organization's long-term interest. The only way the White Sox make a blockbuster addition and part with some of the top prospects in their system is if the players they're getting back can also be part of the organization's future and seamlessly fit alongside the current young core that has made the White Sox baseball's best story in 2026.
It's for that reason that the latest mock trade making the rounds online is entirely unrealistic.
Jim Bowden Mocks Gray and Chapman to White Sox
Former MLB GM and current MLB analyst and insider for CBS Sports and The Athletic, Jim Bowden, recently proposed six blockbuster mock trades on his show GM Territory. One of them had the White Sox landing a significant package from the Boston Red Sox.
In Bowden's proposal, the White Sox acquired right-handed starting pitcher Sonny Gray and left-handed closer Aroldis Chapman in exchange for three prospects: shortstop Billy Carlson, outfielder Jaden Fauske, and right-handed pitcher Mason Adams.
Gray and Chapman would fill obvious needs for the White Sox. Gray is 9-1 with a 2.69 ERA for Boston this season over 83.2 innings pitched. He would not only provide the length out of the starting rotation that the White Sox covet, but also give Chicago another frontline arm alongside Davis Martin that would provide a fighting chance in any playoff series.
Chapman to the White Sox has been gaining more traction among fans with the recent struggles of Seranthony Dominguez. Chapman has 16 saves and a 2.19 ERA with the Red Sox this year, and he's coming off a season in which his 1.17 ERA and 32 saves earned him the AL Reliever of the Year Award. He's an experienced closer who has performed on the biggest stages in the sport. But the fact that Chapman is left-handed makes him a less intuitive fit for Chicago's current needs.
The White Sox already have competent left-handed relievers in Bryan Hudson and Sean Newcomb, among others. What they truly need is another reliable right-hander who can allow them to push Dominguez into lower-leverage situations with regularity.
Still, it's easy to see how this trade would make the White Sox better. It would give them a great chance not only to win the AL Central, but also to make some noise in the postseason. But it still doesn't make much sense for where the White Sox are as an organization or what they're trying to accomplish long term.
Sonny Gray is 36 years old. He'll turn 37 in November, and he very well could be on an expiring contract. Gray has a mutual option for the 2027 season valued at $30 million. If the White Sox chose to bring him back, it would cost them. And even if they exercised the option, Gray could always opt out to test free agency and pursue a longer-term deal. Mutual options are very rarely agreed upon.
Chapman is 38 years old. And he, too, has an option at the end of his contract this year. There's a conditional mutual option for 2027 valued at $13 million that becomes guaranteed if he reaches 40 innings pitched in 2026 and passes his end-of-year physical.
Chapman's situation, however, is a bit different than Gray's. His mutual option is not one that he has to opt into. It automatically renews his deal if reaches those benchmarks.
Still, the age of both players and the fact that Gray, the headliner in this deal, is essentially a rental for the starting rotation that doesn't solve any of Chicago's long-term problems makes this a trade that simply doesn't fit.
It's not that the White Sox won't be open to the idea of acquiring an expiring contract. Beggars can't always be choosers at the trade deadline. But given the tone of recent comments from Chris Getz, I don't see Chicago moving on from its No. 5, No. 7, and No. 11 prospects, including its first two draft picks from the 2025 draft class, to acquire aging pitchers.
I'm not even sure the White Sox are married to some of these prospects. If it were someone like Logan Webb, Reid Detmers, or another controllable starting pitcher who fits into Chicago's long-term plans, I'm not sure there would be many prospects truly deemed "untouchable."
But those arms just don't seem to be on the table at this year's deadline.
I am holding firm to the idea that the most likely outcome is for the White Sox to add a pair of relief arms they can acquire for relatively cheap, along with a buy-low starting pitcher who can eat some innings. But an all-out push for the 2026 AL Central title, like Jim Bowden is suggesting, simply is not going to happen.
