For the second time in a week, the White Sox are being connected to Cubs relievers. Intracity trade on the way?
Jesse Rogers was the first to report it last week, reiterated it on the radio, and now Bruce Levine mentions it, too. Ryan Tepera gets the primary focus from Rogers, but Levine adds in Craig Kimbrel:
The White Sox continue to scout the trade chips in the Cubs’ bullpen, most notably All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel and reliever Ryan Tepera, sources said ….
The Cubs want to add pitching, and right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, right-hander Jonathan Stiever and right-hander Jimmy Lambert are among those in the White Sox’s system who would be candidates to be moved in a trade for Tepera. The price for Kimbrel would clearly be much higher.
As Levine notes, Lopez, 27, would be a reclamation-type candidate, with a couple years of arbitration left, but having struggled to translate his talent into results at the big league level. Insert your Jake Arrieta trade comparison here if you like, though I believe the potential upside seen in Arrieta was higher in his prospecting days, and also, that’s like a 99th percentile outcome for a reclamation/post-hype prospect.
Stiever, 24, is a maybe guy, who’s on the cusp of the big leagues, but I’m not sure how much certainty or upside is there. He’s kind of like a 10 to 20 range prospect in a meh White Sox system. Lambert, 26, is in a similar spot, having reached the big leagues, but not having demonstrated a readiness to contribute. It’s a maybe guy, and it would have to be a scouting play where the Cubs felt they could get him over the hump.
Would you be interested in any or all of these guys in a Tepera trade? Yeah, I suppose, given the need for pitching in 2022 and the Cubs’ success at flipping the switch for certain guys. But Lopez is getting close to non-tender candidate territory, and neither Stiever or Lambert is a great bet to definitely contribute in the big leagues (and at their age/level, that’s kinda what you need to see, even if the upside is limited). You might rather the Cubs took a shot on younger prospects.
As for Kimbrel, the problem is that the best and most impactful young White Sox talent is already at the big league level. I don’t see them even considering moving guys like Andrew Vaughn or Michael Kopech or even Garrett Crochet, so it’s pretty hard to come up with a reasonable trade package.
Like Rogers indicates, Tepera is probably the much more likely target for the White Sox if something were to happen.