DETROIT, MICHIGAN – AUGUST 11: Luis Robert #88 of the Chicago White Sox celebrates a 8-4 win over the Detroit Tigers with teammates at Comerica Park on August 11, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The Chicago White Sox do not need to panic by making a deadline deal.
The Chicago White Sox have not made the postseason since 2008 and entered 2020 with legitimate playoff expectations. The team has spent a decade amassing talent and so far that has led to a 10-9 record this season.
This average start still has the team just two games behind the Minnesota Twins for first place in the American League Central division, so the playoffs are not out of reach by any measure. However, the team has had such limited success since winning the World Series in 2005, some may be clamoring for a big deadline deal.
That is not necessary in this shortened 2020 season.
The White Sox need to stay the course.
This is obviously not a normal MLB season. This is a 60-game sprint in which some teams are dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks. That puts the postseason in question without a bubble being in place.
A team fighting for contention would normally become a “buyer” at the deadline in an effort to add that one player to get them to the next level. In this case, trading for a star presents complications. Do they need to quarantine upon arrival? Can a player move from one state to another during this pandemic? It is not as easy as hopping on a plane and being set up with a place to live.
Then there comes the return in any trade. Trading top prospects for a rental player could result in that player either not being able to play right away or joining the team only to see the postseason not be played in its entirety.
This is a wide open year and the White Sox are still in the hunt to compete for the World Series. But the team should not panic and jeopardize the future of the franchise just to get into a 16-team tournament for a World Series that may need a bubble to get played.
If the franchise’s rebuilding process goes according to plan, the team will be set up to win in 2021 and beyond. Then comes the proper time to make trades when everything is hopefully back to some sort of normal.