In December 2016, the White Sox traded their staff ace and possible future Hall of Famer Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox, betting on the return of four prospects. Arguably the best pitcher in baseball was traded in the middle of his prime on a team-friendly contract, so the returns should have been enormous.
So far, they have been completely underwhelming, and with Michael Kopech out for the 2019 season after having Tommy John surgery, it is up to former top-billed prospect Yoan Moncada to get some value back in the trade for 2019, and not leave White Sox fans scratching their heads wondering why the team didn’t trade for anyone actually good like Andrew Benintendi or Mookie Betts.