Report: White Sox Trade Chris Sale to Boston for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Chicago White Sox traded ace Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox for 21-year-old Cuban second baseman Yoan Moncada, flame-throwing prospect Michael Kopech, and two other prospects. In 2015, the Red Sox agreed to a $31.5 million signing bonus with Moncada, Baseball America’s top prospect last season who has one of the more bizarre defection stories you’ll ever hear; then Boston had to shell out another $31.5 in penalties for exceeding their allotment of international bonus money. (Fun fact: that kind of deal will no longer be possible under the new CBA, which imposed a hard cap on international spending.)

The 20-year-old Kopech was one of the top two pitching prospects in Boston’s system and started 11 games last season in class A+ Salem, finishing with a 2.25 ERA and 1.038 WHIP.

In return, the Red Sox will receive three very affordable years from Chris Sale, where he will make $12 million in 2017, $12.5 million the following season, and then finally $15 million in 2019. Sale has a career ERA of exactly 3.00 and a 1.065 WHIP over seven years. He joins a staff helmed by reigning Cy Young winner Rick Porcello.

Let’s hope he’s cool with Boston’s throwback uniforms.