Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Potential Landing Spots for Starling Marte

The last team to talk about is a team that has been one of the most aggressive teams in the early going this off-season.  The Chicago White Sox have already made a couple of splashy moves this off-season by re-signing first baseman Jose Abreu to a large contract and giving Yasmani Grandal the biggest free-agent contract in White Sox history.  As the team looks to continue to be aggressive, they may need to look for players who can make an impact at a lower financial cost.

When looking at the Chicago White Sox depth chart, their current centerfielder is Adam Engel, who batted just .242 and got on base and a .304 clip.  Obviously Starling Marte would be a big-time upgrade over their 2019 starter.  If the White Sox are ready to get aggressive in a weak AL Central, then they need to upgrade center field.

The White Sox top prospect is outfielder Luis Roberts, who projects better in right field than center field. The White Sox would likely not want to trade him but rather have him playing alongside Marte and Jimenez.  So this leaves their number two prospect, pitcher Michael Kopech.  Kopech missed all of last season with Tommy-John surgery but is expected to be back for 2020.

While that’s a little bit of a risk to trade for a pitcher coming off major surgery, he still ranks as the 20th best prospect in baseball.  Also, he is one of the most dynamic arms out of any pitching prospect with a fastball that reaches triple digits regularly.  The White Sox likely will not want to part with Kopech but they may be inclined to for a star outfielder on a cheap contract.

In terms of secondary pieces, the White Sox could offer right-handed pitchers Dane Dunning and Jonathan Stiever, who are their next top pitching prospects after Kopech.  Also, they have outfielders Luis Alexander Basabe, Blake Rutherford, and Luis Gonzalez who all rank inside their top 10 prospects as well.