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The Winter Meeting rumors on White Sox and Chris Sale have narrowed in on the Braves today, specifically when discussing who the Braves wouldn’t give up.
#Whitesox indeed want Swanson for Sale. #Braves have said no shot, but would consider Albies in a big deal.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 4, 2016
The idea of a Sale and Swanson trade has come up earlier this fall, but the Braves have been pretty clear that Swanson won’t be part of any deal.
Ozzie Albies is an interesting runner-up in the contest. Albies, who turns 20 next month, is a shortstop like Swanson, but ended up playing second base more to end the season. He’s also a switch-hitter. He was a top 100 prospect heading into last season, and is currently #12 on MLB.com, just a bit behind Dansby Swanson at #5. He started out the 2016 season at AA and was promoted to Gwinnett at the end of April. After struggling for two months in Gwinnett (.248/.307/.351), Albies returned to AA Mississippi where he finished the season hitting .321/.391/.467.
While Swanson would be one of the biggest prospects out there that the Sox could get for Sale, a package including Albies and other top Braves prospects might end up tempting the White Sox if phone calls for other prospects stop getting returned.