The Oakland A's full-on rebuild is set to continue as they are in talks with the Chicago White Sox about a trade involving two key starting pitchers. The Athletics have already dealt away all-stars Chris Bassitt and Matt Olson, but it appears that those moves were only the beginning of the madness. MLB Trade Rumors reported via Twitter that Chicago and Oakland are discussing LHP Sean Manaea and RHP Frankie Montas.
Manaea was productive in 2021, pitching to the tune of a 3.91 ERA to go along with 194 strikeouts. Montas was even better as he posted a 3.37 ERA while striking out 207 batters. The duo along with Bassitt made for a formidable pitching staff in Oakland. But the A's are clearly blowing it all up and entering a re-tooling phase, so it would make sense for them to deal all three pitchers away.
For Chicago, a move to acquire one or both pitchers would strengthen an already elite starting rotation. The Sox have Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito at the forefront of the staff with Dylan Cease and Dallas Keuchel in the middle. But Keuchel was underwhelming last year so Chicago could opt to add both Manaea and Montas and place them in the back end of the rotation.
The trade would make the White Sox the unquestioned favorites in the American League Central. As things stand right now, they are still favored to win the division but Cleveland's pitching depth has some picking the Guardians as underdogs. However, if Chicago bolsters their pitching with this trade then the division would be theirs for the taking with little competition.
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