(670 The Score) Nothing stirs up debate on the Chicago baseball scene quite like hypothetical trade ideas between the Cubs and White Sox.
In 2017, the two teams reached a blockbuster deal in reality, with the then-rebuilding White Sox sending left-hander Jose Quintana to the championship-contending Cubs in exchange for a pair of talented prospects in slugger Eloy Jimenez and right-hander Dylan Cease.
Now, the dynamic is different. It's the White Sox who are serous championship contenders in 2021, as they lead the AL Central by two games over the second-place Indians entering action Friday. Meanwhile, the Cubs are sliding, losing seven of their past 10 games to fall four games behind the NL Central-leading Brewers.
Get your White Sox tickets by clicking here
With much of the Cubs' core set to be free agents after the 2021 season, being sellers ahead of the trade deadline on July 30 remains a possibility. A premier player the Cubs could potentially trade is star infielder/outfielder Kris Bryant, a free agent-to-be whose bat and versatility just so happens to be exactly what the White Sox – and any other contender – could use.
With that in mind, the Mully & Haugh crew played out the hypothetical on their show Tuesday morning: What would it take for the White Sox to acquire Bryant from the Cubs?
A lot is the answer.
"I think the Kris Bryant scenario is pie in the sky," host David Haugh said. "I don't think it's terribly realistic."
"What would it take to get him? No. 1, another 10 games on the losing streak," co-host Mike Mulligan said.
Then the crew got to debating further. Executive producer Dustin Rhoades floated the idea that the Cubs would need two of the following three players: left-hander Garrett Crochet, right-hander Michael Kopech and first baseman/outfielder Andrew Vaughn. That got shot down quickly, with the hosts pointing out how much the White Sox need Kopech if they want to win a championship this season and how much Vaughn means to their future as he's under contract control for years to come.
Still, Rhoades shared how much Bryant could mean to the White Sox, who have been decimated by injuries, specifically in their outfield. Bryant, 29, can play all three outfield positions at a high level as well as third base. He's hitting .261 with 15 homers, 41 RBIs and an .847 OPS in 73 games this season.
"Kris Bryant is the type of player that I almost think guarantees the White Sox an appearance for the American League pennant and probably is enough by himself – the only addition the Sox would need is a Kris Bryant and I think they're competing for the World Series regardless of who comes back off the current 40-man roster to the Cubs," Rhoades said. "That's the guy (he is).
"Even if you can't sign him moving forward, it's worth it."
As for his take, Mulligan landed on this as a potential fair trade package for Bryant: Crochet and another promising arm from the White Sox's minor league system.
What do you think? Watch the entire debate in the video player at the top of this page.
