Being active sellers on the trade market is not uncharted territory for the White Sox, but their flurry of activity as the trade deadline neared this season marked the first time they were really busy peddling pieces since 2017.
How did the July 2017 deals go? One way to evaluate is with by-the-numbers comparisons from trade date forward of the pieces they received against those they dealt.
In 2017, when the Sox finished 67-95 and stood 35-45 on July 1, they sent Jose Quintana to the Cubs; Todd Frazier, Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson to the Yankees; Anthony Swarzak to the Brewers; and Melky Cabrera to the Royals.
The only deal that brought back players who have made a big major-league impact was the Quintana trade. Minor-leaguers in other trades have not reached the majors, and two big-league pieces — reliever Tyler Clippard from the Yankees and outfielder Ryan Cordell from the Brewers — made only small contributions here.
That leaves only the Quintana deal to be evaluated on a production-for-production basis. In that deal, the Sox received Eloy Jimenez, now 27, and Dylan Cease, now 27, along with Bryant Fleet and Matt Rose, who have not reached the majors.
Quintana was 4-8 with a 4.49 ERA that season up to the trade July 13, but his Fangraphs WAR had been at star level (4.9 in 2014 and 2016 and 4.3 in 2015).
The Cubs were languishing at 43-45, in danger of missing the playoffs a season after winning the World Series. After the trade, Quintana was 7-3 with a 3.74 ERA and 2.1 fWAR. He was a big contributor as the team finished 92-70, won the National League Central and reached the NL Championship Series before losing to the Dodgers.
Overall, his time with the Cubs was a mixed bag. He went 33-23 with a 4.24 ERA and 7.4 fWAR with them.
Injuries kept Jimenez from being all the Sox hoped, but he has provided power when healthy since his debut in 2019. He slugged 31 home runs in 504 plate appearances that season but hasn’t had more than 327 plate appearances since.
Jimenez has averaged 35 homers per 162 games, but the limited playing time has left him with 84 homers, a hitting line of .278/.327/.499, 123 weighted runs created plus and 5.8 fWAR in his career.
Cease pitched at star level with 4.4 fWARs in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, when he went 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA, he was second in American League Cy Young voting.
Starting in 2019, Cease has an 11.8 fWAR. Combined, Jimenez and Cease have a 17.6 fWAR for a healthy edge over the 7.4 by Quintana with the Cubs.
There’s more to evaluating trades than performance. Salaries and roster flexibility are factors, too. So is impact on a pennant race, and Quintana gave the Cubs what they needed in 2017.
But the Sox have gotten more production out of that deal, with Jimenez and Cease young enough to expand the edge.
