Two MLB contenders agreed to a trade on Friday as the Chicago White Sox sent relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for outfielder AJ Pollock. The deal is the rare exchange that truly helps both sides, though it wasn't the only move made by the White Sox. Following the Kimbrel-Pollock trade, Chicago made an important move with All-Star starting pitcher Lucas Giolito. The team tweeted the news from their Twitter account.

The White Sox have agreed to a one-year, $7.4 million deal with Giolito, avoiding arbitration. The trade with the Dodgers granted Chicago their much-needed third outfielder in Pollock, who figures to spend time at the corner outfield spots.

With Giolito's contract situation solidified for now, the White Sox can now shift their focus to defending their American League Central crown from 2021.

Their ace right-hander can now also completely focus on pitching, which has to be a bit of a weight lifted off of his shoulders. Things were trending towards a messy arbitration situation, which is never good for either side. Fortunately, the two parties avoided that with the season less than a week away.

Even in a bit of a down year, Giolito's numbers were excellent, as he pitched to an 11-9 record with a 3.53 ERA and 201:52 strikeout to-walk ratio in a career-high 178 2/3 innings.

Entering his age 27 season, Giolito could be poised for a run at the American League Cy Young award.