In-market deals? Chicago clubs address report

The Cubs have made no secret that they are open to adding another premier starting pitcher, so is a trade for crosstown ace Chris Sale on the table?

No, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, who wrote Tuesday that “the White Sox have told the Cubs they won’t deal with them.” Presented with that assertion on Wednesday, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer and White Sox GM Rick Hahn each painted a more nuanced picture.

“I guess I would just say [that while] I wouldn’t expect a deal to get done between the two teams, I think that they would always listen to a deal and think through the merits of it,” Hoyer said. “I don’t think I’m saying anything that’s unexpected. I think people talk all the time about deals done in-division, and they’re very difficult to do, and people talk about deals done within [markets]. You don’t see a lot of deals between the Mets and Yankees, or Oakland and San Francisco. Deals within your own city are difficult to make because you’ve got a lot of writers covering the same things and there’s a lot of scrutiny.”

Hoyer contended that he and Cubs president Theo Epstein each have positive and longstanding working relationships with White …

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