The Major League Baseball trade deadline has passed, and Chris Sale and Jose Quintana are still members of the White Sox.
Trade rumors were at an unusual high involving the coveted left-handers with team-friendly contracts over the last few weeks after general manager Rick Hahn announced the Sox were open to listening to offers on anyone.
The Red Sox, Dodgers and Rangers reportedly had conversations with the Sox about acquiring either Sale or Quintana. But the asking price was known to be very high, and Hahn even cautioned that the club might have a better chance of making deals in the offseason.
"In terms of getting fair value at this point in time, you are dealing with a limited supply of potential players coming back, in that it's primarily teams in contention that are looking to add at this point ... and they don't want to touch their big-league clubs so you're dealing with just their prospects," Hahn said. "Could someone conceivably put together something that moves us? Absolutely. But we know how special some of the players we have under control are and we have in our mind what arguably is appropriate coming back. And the fact is, no one may meet that price at this point in time."
The Sox had several other players who might have drawn interest, but they ended up dealing only left-handed reliever Zach Duke to the Cardinals for Triple-A outfield prospect Charlie Tilson.
The move appeared to signal a willingness to trade key pieces, considering Duke was among the Sox's most effective relievers. With losses in four of their last five games to the Cubs and Twins before the deadline to drop to 51-54, it seemed even more possible the Sox might make moves.
But instead, barring waiver wire trades, they will play out the season with their core group and could try to re-work deals in the offseason, considering much of the 25-man roster is under control through at least next season.
