Archie Bradley #25 of the Arizona Diamondbacks (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
The Chicago White Sox need to keep acquiring veteran talent
The Chicago White Sox finally realized that trading away veterans for superstar prospects, while a solid way to build a team, eventually has to cease at some point. The White Sox completely changed their mindset this offseason, acquiring veterans like Edwin Encarnacion, Nomar Mazara, and Yasmani Grandal to help accentuate the talents of promising young guns like Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, and Yoan Moncada.
Should the White Sox want to stay afloat in the AL Central, they will need to remain active at the trade deadline. While they have the ammunition to swing for the fences and add a proven superstar, Chicago might be better off trading a few lesser prospects here and there to make unheralded, yet still reliable acquisitions that can help the front office trust in their roster as September and October approach.
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Hanser Alberto
IF Baltimore Orioles
Alberto is a bit of a weird evaluation, as the perpetually warring traditionalist and sabermetric communities will have very different opinions on him. While new-school thinkers point to a 98 OPS+ and average defense as reasons not to give up highly-touted prospects in a trade for him, there is something to be said for a guy who can play several infield and outfield positions while hitting .305 with 12 home runs on a bad team.
Nick Madrigal should be able to handle the second base role, but it’s never a bad idea to stock up on infield depth, especially when the player you’re stocking up with has hit over .300 while offering plus versatility. For the cost of two lower-tier prospects that are currently residing in the lower levels of the minor leagues, Chicago could add a rock-solid veteran with more than enough potential to fill in at several different positions. Once October comes around, those types of players become even more valuable.