That had to be the significant takeaway from not just finding out that high-leverage relievers Alex Colome and Aaron Bummer weren't moved to current contenders for assets on a future timetable. They were kept to be part of something close to the here and now, and it doesn't take too much of an optimist to take Hahn at his word.
"It was a matter of: Were we getting what we felt made enough sense to potentially put a hole in next year's roster and how were we going to go about filling that hole?" Hahn said. "We just didn't get to the point where we were motivated by what was coming back to potentially weaken the 2020 roster."
So sure, there was a price at which either or both could have been had, but Hahn's admission matters, in that the idea of next year's roster held that kind of importance of evaluations of potential deals in the present. That's is an expectations-raising comment -- or certainly should be. The next phase may be upon us.
Sometimes the timing of a stage in a rebuild announces itself, more rapidly than a team has expected. Selling off, tanking and drafting are the parts in your control, the stuff you can schedule. But development is non-linear and always affected by the whim of injuries. This all could be synchronizing in a way that demands Hahn slide whatever he's constructing into gear.
He has his third baseman, catcher, left fielder, first baseman and shortstop here already. That's more than half a lineup. Top prospect Luis Robert has exploded into Triple-A Charlotte, where he's currently slashing .351/.420/.715 in 18 games and appears ready to man center field. Nick Madrigal is the second baseman in waiting after ripping up Double-A and just needs a bit more time in Triple-A before he takes the big league job from a temporary placeholder into next season. Another representative outfield fit can be bought.
More questions remain for the pitching rotation, but Lucas Giolito is now not one of them. Michael Kopech will be back to join Dylan Cease and Reynaldo Lopez, and it could be just the right time to spend a bit for a more reliable and established pro than Ivan Nova if Dane Dunning isn't ready for that job, as the White Sox also await the midseason return of Carlos Rodon.
2020 for the White Sox could be what 2015 was for the Cubs, when the ingredients were finally stirred together and the chemical reaction began. The Cubs' signing of Jon Lester announced that to all, and it could be that Hahn is eyeing something similar in the coming months.
"Heading into this offseason, based on the progress of some of these young players, based on the progress of other young players that will be joining this roster over the coming months, I think it's very logical for us, you're going to see a heightened level of aggressiveness come this offseason," Hahn said. "We'll wait until we get there to decide exactly where."
So keep an eye on the respective trajectories of Robert and Madrigal and on where all the money once earmarked unsuccessfully for Manny Machado can now be used. Nothing happened for the White Sox on Wednesday, but it sounds like something is happening.