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The Chicago White Sox offseason continues with a trade involving the Boston Red Sox and pitching prospects.
To make the trade work, the White Sox had to take on a high-priced reliever.
What they're saying:
The White Sox and Red Sox's trade is centered around reliever Jordan Hicks.
The full trade details the team announced on Sunday afternoon are:
The White Sox acquire: right-handed reliever Jordan Hicks, right-handed pitching prospect David Sandlin, cash considerations and two players to be named later.
The Red Sox acquire: right-handed pitching prospect Gage Ziehl.
White Sox general manager Chris Getz acquired Ziehl from the New York Yankees at the trade deadline in 2025 for outfielder Austin Slater.
Hicks struggled for the Red Sox last season, ending the 2025 season with a 2-7 record and 7.05 ERA. The Red Sox owe Hicks $12.5 million in each of the next two seasons.
To make room for Sandlin and Hicks, the White Sox designated right-handed pitcher Jairo Iriarte and catcher Drew Romo for assignment.
Big picture view:
The White Sox continue to maneuver the active roster and the farm system after freeing up over $20 million by trading Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets on January 20.
Since then, Getz has signed reliever Seranthony Domínguez to a two-year, $20 million contract and recently agreed to terms with free agent outfielder Austin Hays on a one-year, $6 million deal.
Before trading Robert, Getz brought left-handed starter Anthony Kay to Chicago on a two-year, $12 million contract and won the sweepstakes to sign infielder Munetaka Murakami to a two-year, $34 million deal,
In acquiring Hicks, the White Sox took on a massive contract but landed a prospect they wanted. Sandlin is rated as the No. 8 overall prospect in the Red Sox farm system by MLB.com.
The 24-year-old right-handed prospect is expected to pitch in the major leagues in the 2026 season, but should have some patience in the White Sox's system as the organization looks to take another step forward in its massive rebuild.
What's next:
There will be more moves to come for the White Sox, but how many more is still to be determined.
It seems unlikely the White Sox will make a move between now and the start of the regular season that shakes up the starting lineup. Signing Murakami was the big splash of the offseason, but Getz is bullish on the development of the young prospects that got plenty of experience in the major leagues last season.
Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, Edgar Quero, Shane Smith and Kyle Teel all flashed in the MLB last season. This year, the biggest splash the White Sox want them to make is to take the next step in their development.
"They’ve kind of gone through it now, and that added experience is only going to give us a bit of a head start going into the season, get a little bit more confidence," Getz said this past week. "Of course, we’re going to welcome some new players in the organization come spring training on the field there."
In acquiring a pitcher like Sandlin, the White Sox might have had to take on the bigger contract that Hicks has, but they're intent on giving any additions they make an opportunity and a change of scenery.
"What we can provide is opportunity and a runway," Getz said. "Some of these players that we’ve acquired just haven’t gotten that runway in other places for various reasons, and we’re going to take advantage of that."