Chris Sale trade rumors: White Sox listening to offers for ace

Rival general managers are pressing Chicago to consider packages for their young ace.

By Tyler Drenon Dec 9, 2013, 10:29am EST

The White Sox will listen to offers for Chris Sale, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, though, Chicago general manager Rick Hahn will have to be blown away to actually consider moving one of his best players. Fielding offers is just part of the job as a general manager. Hahn has said he "wouldn't be doing his job" if he ignored offers.

More: David Price trade rumors: Dodgers interested in Rays' ace

The White Sox have made a few moves recently that could be considered "rebuilding" maneuvers, but Sale is still young at 24, and perhaps more importantly, he's under team control through 2017, with options for 2018 and 2019. The Sox quickly extended him to a five-year deal with a guarantee of $32.5 million after his dominant 2012 campaign, a move that looks even shrewder after his even better 2013 follow-up.

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As a big-league starter, Sale, who will be 25 years old by the time 2014 rolls around, owns 406 innings with 418 strikeouts against just 97 walks. He's also posted a 140 ERA+ in that stretch, the third-best in the majors behind Clayton Kershaw and Kris Medlen, minimum 300 innings.

After winning the bidding for Cuban defector Jose Dariel Abreu, Chicago might be more inclined to attempt to make a push to improve in a more immediate fashion. Sale provides the Sox with an anchor at the front of their rotation, so moving him would set them back significantly in their efforts to return to the postseason, a feat they haven't accomplished since losing to the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Divisional Series in 2008.

Considering his team-friendly contract and the fact that he resembles an adorable newborn giraffe on the mound, the return on a trade for Sale is hard to even imagine. ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the Diamondbacks would be extremely interested in him if Hahn ever seriously considered a swap.