White Sox fans would rather have Nick Madrigal than Craig Kimbrel

After the Chicago White Sox’s 9-4 loss to the Houston Astros, White Sox fans are frustrated that the team traded away Nick Madrigal for Craig Kimbrel. 

While the July 30 trade for Trea Turner and Max Scherzer worked out for the Los Angeles Dodgers, another last-minute blockbuster trade hasn’t fared as well among baseball fans.

On the last day of the 2021 trade deadline, the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs traded key players across the city that may have affected their playoff runs. Cubs pitcher Craig Kimbrel went to the White Sox, while second baseman Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer went to the Cubs.

The Cubs landed near the bottom of the NL Central with a 71-91 record, while the White Sox dominated the AL Central with 93-69. But that July 30 trade may have just cut the White Sox postseason short.

At the time of the trade, Kimbrel was considered “arguably the best reliever in baseball over the course of the season.”

White Sox fans would have preferred Nick Madrigal over Craig Kimbrel

Bleacher Nation’s Brett Taylor described exactly how the White Sox-Astros ALDS game got out of hand with Kimbrel on the mound:

“Entering into a messy situation in the 7th inning of today’s ALDS Game Two against the Astros, Kimbrel was tasked with keeping the Astros lead to just one. With one out and two runners on, Kimbrel was able to record an out upon entering, but then gave up a rocket double and a rocket home run to put the game out of reach.”

The outcome led to fans pining for their former second baseman and pitcher, who both debuted in the 2020 season.

Others argued that despite today’s outcome, it doesn’t mean that the trade was necessarily a bad one for the White Sox.

Currently, the White Sox have a $16 million option on Kimbrel through 2022.