The course of the Chicago White Sox changed drastically in about 30 hours four years ago.
The White Sox were the talk of baseball on Dec. 6, 2016, after sending ace Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox for infielder Yoan Moncada, pitchers Michael Kopech and Victor Diaz and outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe.
"Given where we were as an organization entering this offseason, we knew we were going to have to make some painful decisions," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said then. "But if we had the opportunity to acquire some high-impact talent that would be around for a number of years, it was time to start that process."
The next day, the White Sox traded outfielder Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals for pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning.
In the time since, everyone has benefited.
The Red Sox won the 2018 World Series with Sale on the mound for the final out. The Nationals won the World Series the next season as Eaton hit .320 with two home runs and six RBIs against the Houston Astros.
As for the White Sox, the deals kick-started a rebuild. Moncada is a budding star at third base and Giolito is one of the top pitchers in the American League.
The White Sox made the playoffs in 2020, losing an AL wild-card series against the Oakland Athletics. They have bigger goals in 2021.
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On the anniversary of the Sale trade, here's how each player involved in the deal has fared:
