Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez joined the White Sox organization together in December of 2016, part of the return in the Adam Eaton trade with the Nationals that, along with the Chris Sale trade, kickstarted the latest rebuild.  Yesterday, the two were bundled together once again, traded to the Angels and officially slamming closed the contention window the now failed rebuild was meant to open.  Giolito, who was 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA this season, and Lopez, 2-5 with a 4.29 ERA and 4 saves, will both become free agents at the end of the season.

Giolito and Lopez both had their successes with the White Sox, but it came in different ways.  Both had a decent showing in a brief cup of coffee to close out 2017, but their paths diverged in 2018.  Lopez had a decent year, going 7-10 with a 3.91 ERA while Giolito was, statistically, the worst starting pitcher in baseball.  From that point forward, though, their fortunes changed dramatically.  With the help of future pitching coach Ethan Katz, Giolito reworked his pitching motion, becoming an All Star in 2019 and throwing a no-hitter in 2020 while earning Cy Young Award votes in each season between 2019 and 2021.  Lopez, meanwhile, struggled with consistency, seeing his ERA jump to 5.38 in 2019 and 6.49 in 2020.  After a brief detour to Charlotte in 2021, Lopez returned as a bullpen arm, where he saw more success.

In exchange for the two pitchers, the Angels are sending catcher Edgar Quero, ranked as the 65th best prospect, and left-hander Ky Bush, their second and third ranked prospects.  Quero, 20, is a switch-hitter and is currently the youngest player in Double A.  Bush, 23, was the Angels’ second-round pick in 2021 and, after a non-arm injury impacted his performance earlier in the season, has posted a 1.84 ERA with 17 strikeouts over his last three appearances in Double A.

While the move should improve the White Sox fortunes in 2024 and beyond, it does leave them in a bit of a pickle for the remainder of 2023.  There is nobody in the farm system ready to step up and take Giolito’s place in the rotation.  It is extremely likely that bullpen days become the norm, especially if further deals send Lance Lynn and Mike Clevinger to other locales.  Given their past aversion to free agent deals for quality pitchers, what Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams do to try and re-work the roster to give themselves any chance of competing in 2024 is anyone’s guess.