Chicago White Sox fans react to Sale, Eaton trades

The Chicago White Sox have begun rebuilding. Both Chris Sale and Adam Eaton have been traded. How have White Sox fans reacted?

In 2005 the Chicago White Sox went 99-63 in the regular season. They defeated the Los Angeles Angels, 4-1, for their first AL Championship since 1959. They swept the Houston Astros on their way to their first World Series Championship since 1917. Yet there has not been very much success for the franchise since.

The overall record of the White Sox since that 2005 season is 872-911 (.489). The team has finished above .500 once in the past 5 years. During that span, the team has won 90 games once (2006) and lost 90 or more games twice (2007, 2013). Only once (2008) since 2005 have the White Sox made the playoffs.

Never truly in contention, yet never building for the future. As GM Rich Hahn stated in July, the team was “mired in mediocrity.”

Something had to change.

The 2016 MLB Winter Meetings have seen the White Sox change in a big way. Star pitcher Chris Sale was traded to the Boston Red Sox for prospects. The following day Adam Eaton was sent to the Washington Nationals in exchange for more prospects.

Gone is the “win now” approach which has seen the White Sox chasing free agents such as Adam LaRoche, Todd Frazier, and yes, Adam Eaton. The rebuilding process has begun in earnest on the south side of Chicago.

The White Sox have been lauded for these trades by baseball analysts and writers. They have acquired four of the Top 40 prospects in the game for players who hold little-to-no present value for the team. But how have White Sox fans reacted to these trades?

Let’s say the reaction has been … mixed.

There are many who have been looking forward to this new direction from the White Sox. Chris Sale and Adam Eaton may have been good players for the White Sox, but they weren’t helping the team get anywhere. These trades are the first steps toward White Sox success in the future.

This reaction seems to be the majority opinion. However, other fans may see a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel but are withholding their excitement and approval. Essentially they’re taking a wait-and-see approach.

https://twitter.com/MorganFoy9/status/806647722530967557

Then there are those who not only hate to see Sale and Eaton go, but see their departures as a sign of incompetency.

The floodgates have seemingly been opened on the south side of Chicago. Sale and Eaton were just the beginning. Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier, and Jose Abreu may all be on their ways out of town. And the purge may not end there. Rick Hahn has instituted a new paradigm and is seemingly using any player with trade value as a means toward this new end.

If this new way of business will be successful can only play out over time. Prospects do not always work out, even ones which come highly touted and with significant pedigree.

The White Sox will be bad in 2017 and for the near future if Hahn has further success in trading current players for prospects. If the acquired prospects realize their potential the future of the White Sox may become similar to their north side neighbors. If those prospects do not pan out, the White Sox will be bad in the long term as well.

Next: Bryce Harper reacts to Adam Eaton trade with White Sox

The lasting consequence of the White Sox 2005 World Series victory has been a belief that makeshift rosters built to “win now” can actually win now. That belief, however, led to a decade of mediocrity. Thankfully, that belief appears to have dissipated.

Rebuilding is always a risk, but at least it’s different.