The Chicago White Sox do not have high expectations of making a deep run into this year’s postseason. Following the worst season in MLB history last year, this season will be all about rebuilding a culture and determining the team’s identity.
Chicago has a young core of minor leaguers coming up through its system, all of whom hope to make a significant impact when they reach the major leagues.
Martín Pérez, a left-handed pitcher who is not part of the young core, is expected to be traded for more prospects at the upcoming trade deadline. Pérez, a 14-year veteran, will almost certainly join a team looking to make a postseason push.
If that’s the case, here are three trade options for Pérez that would get him out of Chicago and onto a playoff roster.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are tied for No. 20 in team ERA at 4.17, with the New York Yankees also having that number. Pérez’s 1.59 ERA is lower than four of the five starters in the Boston rotation, with Garrett Crochet the only one who has a higher mark.
Pérez could join the Red Sox rotation as a starter or long reliever/swingman. Whichever it is, the veteran left-hander would be an excellent addition to the Boston staff.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers always require more pitching, right? With an injury-prone rotation (Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May, Blake Snell, and Clayton Kershaw), the reigning World Series champions will almost certainly look to add pitching at the trade deadline.
Pérez is a dependable arm who has made 20 or more starts in every season since 2016 (excluding COVID), and he is the type of arm that manager Dave Roberts would prefer to have running out to start Game 3 or 4 of a series after the likes of Yamamoto or Sasaki.
Texas Rangers
This one returns Pérez to where his major league career began. Nine of his 14 seasons in the major leagues have been with the Rangers, including the best season of his career in 2022, when he earned his first and only All-Star Game nomination, and a World Series championship in 2023.
Outside of Jacob DeGrom, the Rangers have a number of inexperienced pitchers, including Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter. A veteran like Pérez would be a valuable addition for both teams, and he could try to win one more championship before calling it a career.
