A Cubs-White Sox crosstown trade to right the wrongs of Dylan Cease swap

The Chicago White Sox are in free-fall, voluntarily punting on the 2024 season before Opening Day when they traded Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres. Chicago is in a rebuild -- their own general manager Chris Getz doesn't hide from that assumption -- and will more than likely trade away several of their best players prior to the MLB trade deadline.

This was all but confirmed by USA Today reporter Bob Nightengale, who listed off a number of players who will be available come late July.

"The White Sox, off to their worst start in franchise history, are still hoping to trade Pham to the highest bidder before the trade deadline...The White Sox are also expected to trade starters Erick Fedde, Chris Flexen, Mike Clevinger, reliever Michael Kopech and DH Eloy Jimenez," Nightengale wrote.

The 2024 trade deadline will be an important one for Getz and Co., as they must stockpile on prospects and jumpstart their rebuild. While the players mentioned shouldn't net a ton in return, the right deal could land intriguing prospect capital.

Cubs can right wrongs of Jose Quintana trade

The Cubs traded Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez to the White Sox back in 2017. It was an absolute haul for the Sox, and still haunts fans from the north side of Chicago to this day. Just imagine how productive their rotation would be with Cease, Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele at the top.

Eloy Jimenez's most productive season came in 2020, as he won a silver slugger award with the White Sox. Since then, however, he has struggled to stay healthy which hurts his trade value some. Jimenez is signed through the 2024 season with two club options attached to his deal worth $16.5 million apiece. If Jimenez out-performs that valuation, he can stay with the acquiring club through 2026. Here's what a White Sox-Cubs trade for Jimenez could look like.

This is why trading Jimenez this season makes the most sense, as he'll land more in return the sooner the White Sox part ways with him. Jimenez is slashing just .220/.278/.378 with four home runs this season. Jimenez is pulling the ball far too much, and instead should open his stance and hit to the opposite way as he has for most of his career.

Jimenez would provide the Cubs with some flexibility at the DH slot. Patrick Wisdom has taken on that role, primarily, but he's also a decent first baseman defensively. Moving Michael Busch to third is an option as well. Perhaps most importantly, Jimenez is a difference-maker in any lineup when he's right, and Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly can fix his stance and approach, just as he did with Cody Bellinger a year ago.

In return, the White Sox would receive top-100 prospect James Triantos along with a pitching prospect in Michael Arias. Triantos is talented, but blocked by Nico Hoerner at second base. Clevinger serves as a rotation upgrade and throw-in to secure the best prospect return for the south siders.

As with all trade scenarios, it's far from perfect, but perhaps a jumping-off point for two teams with a complicated history.