Cubs, White Sox should be celebrating Hunter Harvey trade for personal interests

A quiet Saturday wound up turning into an eventful one when the Washington Nationals decided to ship Hunter Harvey off to the Kansas City Royals. It's not a league-shifting trade by any means, but the Royals addressed a major area of need by acquiring a reliever that wasn't even guaranteed to be available.

The Nationals selling doesn't come as a huge surprise, but trading Harvey, a promising reliever with another full season of club control, wasn't close to a guarantee. Even if they were selling they could've kept Harvey around for next season as they, in theory, compete for a postseason spot.

Ultimately, the offer Kansas City gave them was too much for them to pass on, and they smartly jumped at their proposal. This trade ultimately shows how valuable teams find club control to be. That could wind up working out in favor of teams like the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox who have intriguing relievers with club control.

Cubs, White Sox licking their chops at potential returns for controllable relievers

It's been a lost season of sorts for Adbert Alzolay who displayed so much promise in the 2023 campaign, but what if the Cubs looked to trade him? Mark Leiter Jr. had a rough month between mid-May and mid-June before landing on the IL but was lights out before the injury and hasn't allowed a run since returning. Both Alzolay and Leiter have two full seasons of club control after this one. What can the Cubs get for one or both of them?

The focus on the South Side is understandably on players like Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. but the White Sox have some relievers teams might be interested in as well. Michael Kopech is the big one, and he, like Harvey, has an additional year of control. Tanner Banks is an underrated southpaw who doesn't even hit arbitration until this upcoming offseason. Even a guy like John Brebbia has a mutual option in his contract for next season that a team could have an interest in.

These teams offer a plethora of relievers who'd stick around past this season. Teams are so afraid to give up a ton for a player who might depart in a couple of months, but the Royals showed that there's legitimate value in giving up much more for a player who will stick around.

Harvey was traded for a solid prospect and a really good draft pick. This isn't to say that the Cubs or White Sox can get the return Washington did for Harvey, but if they decide to part with their controllable relievers, MLB fans might be surprised at the return.