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Cris Sale complicates White Sox trade with uniform stunt

By Roger Rubin, The Sports Xchange
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (L) laughs with pitcher John Danks. Talks of a trade abound for Sale, who has proven to be a problem child. File photo by Brian Kersey/UPI
1 of 2 | Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (L) laughs with pitcher John Danks. Talks of a trade abound for Sale, who has proven to be a problem child. File photo by Brian Kersey/UPI | License Photo

To sell or not to sell? That was the question facing the Chicago White Sox regarding ace Chris Sale before the weekend began. It still is, only now it's a little more complicated.

After throwing some of baseball's best games this season, Sale threw its biggest tantrum on Saturday.

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The 27-year-old lefty didn't want to wear the club's 1976 throwback uniforms in his start against the Tigers because he felt they were uncomfortable. He requested of the club that they not wear them after he arrived at U.S. Cellular Field, was told they couldn't make the switch and then took matters into his own hands. During Sox batting practice, he destroyed enough of the uniforms so the team couldn't use them in the game.

For this immature and selfish act, he was sent home before the game and then suspended without pay for five games on Sunday. It will cost the favorite for the AL Cy Young $250,000 of his $9.15 million salary this season. The penalty probably should have been bigger because he hurt his organization in many ways.

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He damaged its chances of winning that game by taking himself out of it (the Sox did win it on Sunday after play was suspended by rain Saturday). He forced it to use six relievers in his place, taxing the bullpen for Sunday's scheduled game, which it also lost. And with contenders assembling hefty offers for him in a trade, he might have given some pause about bringing on a talented "problem" or made them reconsider how much to proffer.

Sale is still incredibly valuable, a great pitcher on a contract that could go three more years for the club-friendly price of about $40 million. And teams that need pitching may still be willing to pay a serious bounty in top prospects because even those alleged of spousal abuse are still desirable because winning seems to trump all. But his value had never been higher than it was before Saturday's events.

This makes three bad incidents that we know about in the past two seasons. After being ejected after a 2015 brawl against the Royals, Sale went to Kansas City clubhouse looking to continue the fisticuffs -- resulting in a five-game suspension from MLB. When Adam LaRoche quit the team in spring training after the organization requested, at the behest of some players, that he stop bringing his son to the park every day, Sale railed against Sox VP Kenny Williams.

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Had the White Sox disciplined him then -- something they should have done but did not -- Sale might not have felt entitled to pitch a fit instead of a game on Saturday.

Sale hasn't spoken on the matter yet, so there is no telling what he was thinking when he destroyed the uniforms. Could he have been trying to force a trade? Or was he just unable to control himself after not getting his way on a date the Sox had scheduled to wear the uniforms at the beginning of the season?

Some would say Chicago must react to this by dealing Sale and ridding itself of an entitled malcontent. It should not, if it cannot get the haul of prospects it wants.

Sale could be the ace of a rotation that contends for a World Series if the White Sox can assemble the remaining necessary pieces. And with that club-friendly contract there is little risk to keeping him; the market might not be limited to only the contenders during the offseason or he could bring a huge return at this time next year if the Sox aren't good.

Sale, too, could benefit from remaining on the White Sox. A deal to an NL team probably means no Cy Young and no bonus that would earn him an additional $2.5 million in 2019. And one of his reported suitors is the MLB-worst Braves, a situation that could put him even further away from reaching a World Series.

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"The actions or behaviors of the last 24 hours does not change in any aspect, any respect, our belief that Chris Sale can help this club win a championship and win multiple championships," White Sox GM Rick Hahn said. "It does not move the needle one iota in terms of his value to this club, his value to any other club that may be interested in his services or the likelihood of him being moved or kept whatsoever. None of that stuff is impacted at all by these events."

That may be true in the case of the White Sox. But Hahn doesn't know yet whether his assessment of how the rest of baseball sees Sale today is correct or just wishful thinking. The answer to that is coming.

But one thing the White Sox have to do is not act as emotionally as Sale did on Saturday. They can't do a deal simply for the sake of doing a deal. Bad actor and all, Sale is just too valuable.

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