Last week, Jon Morosi said the White Sox were one team Cincinnati contacted for pitching help, although no trade was close, and with the deadline more than a fortnight away, it didn't merit any particular monitoring.
On Monday, the Cincinnati Enquirer's Gordon Wittenmyer -- formerly a Cubs beat writer for a couple of different Chicago outlets -- refreshed the White Sox-Reds connection by saying Chicago sources said the Sox had interest in infielder Jonathan India, who may or may not be on the block himself.
Wittenmyer downplayed the report from MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, saying that India is integral enough to the clubhouse that the Reds might fear some kind of backlash. Then again, Feinsand said that India would only be available for "young, controllable starting pitching," and that descriptor doesn't really fit anybody on the White Sox.
India, a 26-year-old league-average second baseman with three arbitration-eligible seasons remaining, would be an acceptable return for Lance Lynn or Michael Kopech, an unimpressive one for Lucas Giolito, and a nonstarter for Dylan Cease.
In his favor, he hits righties OK, looks to put the ball in the air to the pull field, and carries a respectable walk-to-strikeout gap. Working against him, he hits a lot of pop-ups (which are almost as empty as strikeouts), and he's a below-average defender and a so-so baserunner.
Basically, he fills in a gap on the roster for a few years ... unless he already peaked with his Rookie of the Year in 2021, and now he's merely getting by. But I'd mostly be interested in seeing if Rick Hahn would talk about India as a guy he wanted to draft in 2018, hoping people forget that he was picked one spot after Nick Madrigal, not before him.
No-trade clause, no problem for Lance Lynn
I've long suspected that Lance Lynn has been chief among anonymous White Sox veterans looking for a lifeboat, and while Ken Rosenthal's story doesn't explicitly say that Lynn is looking for a trade, he has the details on the no-trade clause that Lynn is likely willing to waive.
As for Lynn’s no-trade list, like any no-trade list, it is not absolute. According to sources briefed on the pitcher’s thinking, he would waive his protection for certain contenders. The teams he can block are the Mariners, Padres and Giants; Dodgers, Angels and Cardinals; Blue Jays, Mets, Yankees and Rays. [...]
It’s doubtful Lynn would drive too hard a bargain. At this point, a number of White Sox veterans are just looking for a get-out-of-jail-free card. And Lynn, who has pitched only once in the postseason since 2015, his last year with the Cardinals, surely wants to return to the October stage.
Most of the teams in that list are contenders. Some of them have deep pockets that simply give a pitcher like Lynn leverage to ask for that team to pick up his $18.5 million club option, and some might be personal preference (he'd prefer to decide whether he moves to Canada, for instance). At any rate, since the club option won't be a concern no matter where he ends up, he probably won't have to be too picky.
