Lance Lynn was slated to make his scheduled start against the Cubs Wednesday, with rumors of the Rays’ and Dodgers interest in making a trade for the veteran White Sox right-hander before the Aug. 1 deadline circulating earlier in the day.
One coach passed Lynn, talking to teammates in the clubhouse, and gave a swift pat on the leg asking, “Still here?”
There were grins all around.
Everyone knows what’s up. Everyone hears.
“The group we have, we’re pretty sarcastic, so most of the time we’re joking around when we’re talking about it,” catcher Seby Zavala said of trade rumors discussed in the clubhouse. “You don’t always know what’s true or what isn’t with stuff being talked about.”
Zavala knows he is a good friend of Lucas Giolito, who usually pitches to Zavala but is expected to be traded, perhaps before his scheduled start Friday against the Guardians.
“It’s kind of a known thing that Lucas is maybe not going to be here,” Zavala said. “I wish someone would tell me if we’re going to have one more go at this or what is going to happen.
“He’s a good friend. We’ll definitely keep in touch no matter where goes but he’s not going anywhere, he’s going to go play baseball somewhere else and hopefully we’ll see each other in spring training or wherever. But that’s part of baseball.”
It’s like Dylan Cease said last week of Giolito being on the block: “It’s not like he’s dying or anything.”
The Sox’ season, however, is mostly dead. They entered Lynn’s start 20 games below .500.
While Giolito is the better target for teams serious about winning, Lynn would be more for teams looking to buy low and not giving up much. Trade negotiations certainly involve how much salary Lynn’s new team would take on. He is owed about $6 million for the rest of the season and comes with a team option for next year.
Manager Pedro Grifol may have known more about trade talks involving Lynn than he was letting on. There was not talk about keeping Lynn out to avoid the risk of an injury that would affect his value.
“The one thing I know is that we’re preparing for this game,” Grifol said. “If we get a call at some point that there’s a change that has to be made, we’ll make the change. But I don’t get too caught up in ‘What if this happens? What if that happens?’ We are prepared for anything. And this has nothing to do with a trade. What if the pitcher that night doesn’t feel good in the bullpen? So it has nothing to do with the trade deadline and everything to do with how we prepare on a daily basis.”
Zavala caught Lynn Wednesday.
“He has your back. If you’re out there fighting, especially if you’re a catcher fighting for him, he really appreciates that,” Zavala said. “We’ve grown close as well. He’s a competitor and I like to think of myself as that kind of player as well, so we get along.
“He’s a big part of why I’m here. He has faith in me and put in a good word for me. So that’s two guys names being dropped at the trade deadline who helped me and backed me. If they do leave it will suck, but it’s a business and they’ll do what they have to do.”
