White Sox steal show at Winter Meetings

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Hey, Rick Hahn. Wipe that smile off your face.

You’ve still got a lot more work to do, not that you need us to tell you.

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Hahn headed to the Winter Meetings with seemingly more on his plate than any other executive after last summer declaring the White Sox “mired in mediocrity” and then standing pat at the non-waiver Trade Deadline. He said he wasn’t going to make a move just to make a move, pointing out that a wider group of players could be available in the offseason.

Bingo.

Hahn got the White Sox’s makeover into high gear by dealing Chris Sale to the Red Sox on Tuesday and Adam Eaton to the Nationals on Wednesday, and he left the Winter Meetings with not only the best overall prospect (Yoan Moncada) but also the most highly ranked pitching prospect (Lucas Giolito). He added five others in those 4-for-1 and 3-for-1 trades, including two ranked among the top 40 (right-handers Michael Kopech and Reynaldo Lopez.

Hahn also had extensive negotiations that could result in deals for Jose Quintana, David Robertson, Jose Abreu, Todd Frazier and Melky Cabrera. While he didn’t finalize any of those potential trades, the work he did this week suggests that major returns could be coming, especially for Quintana and Abreu, under control for four and three years, respectively.

“I’m very pleased with the way this has started,” Hahn said after the Eaton trade. “We’re a long ways away from being at the end.”

Everyone knew Sale would yield a huge return, and he did. The Red Sox sent Moncada, Kopech, outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe and power reliever Victor Diaz to the White Sox for the five-time All-Star, who is controlled through 2019. But the Eaton deal was a revelation.

Because Eaton …

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