:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52160563/606990044.0.jpeg)
Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox lefthander, has been sent to the Boston Red Sox for a four player package highlighted by Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech, according to Ken Rosenthal on Twitter.
The Texas Rangers have been inquiring about Sale for some time, but the need to include either Rougned Odor or Nomar Mazara — if not both players — in a package reportedly made that price too steep.
The Red Sox, in the meantime, can pair Sale with David Price at the top of their rotation, as club president Dave Dombrowski continues to show a willingness to part with top prospects to land premium major league talent.
Moncada, a 21 year old infielder signed by Boston out of Cuba in 2015, is considered one of the top prospects in the game, putting up a .294/.407/.511 slash line between high-A and AA last year, albeit with 124 Ks in 491 plate appearances.
Kopech, a 20 year old righthander out of Mount Pleasant, Texas, was the #33 overall pick in the 2014 draft, and really exploded this year, throwing 100 mph and getting attention as one of the top pitching prospects in the game, while also earning a 50 game substance ban and breaking his hand in a fight with a teammate.
Moncada and Kopech were ranked 2nd and 4th in the Baseball America top 100 rankings for the Red Sox.
This deal comes on the heels of another Boston trade from earlier today, where the club acquired reliever Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers in exchange for Travis Shaw, Mauricio Dubon, and Josh Pennington.
Sale, who turns 28 around Opening Day, has established himself as one of the top pitchers in baseball, and has finished in the top 6 of the A.L. Cy Young balloting the last five years. Sale is controllable through 2019 at just $38 million.
UPDATE — According to Bob Nightengale, the other two prospects in the deal are outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe and pitcher Victor Diaz.
Basabe, a 20 year old switch hitter, is considered a quality defensive center fielder with solid offensive tools but questions about his contact ability. BA had him at #8 in the BoSox system. Diaz, a 22 year old righthander, had a solid season in the low-A Sally League.