SI.com’s Jon Heyman reports that the White Sox have asked the Yankees for both Jesus Montero and Manny Banuelos in a John Danks deal.
Danks, 26, is coming off a year in which he went 8-12 with a 4.33 ERA, but he will be highly coveted by several teams in trade talks. The durable left-hander finished with ERAs of 3.77 and 3.72 the two previous year, and he’s fanned seven batters per nine innings over the course of his career. He’s been on the disabled list just once as a major leaguer, that coming last season due to a strained oblique.
But while a lot of teams would love to slot Danks into their rotation, the Yankees aren’t going to give up their top two prospects for him. It’s doubtful they’d part with either Montero or Banuelos. Danks has just one year left before free agency, limiting his trade value, and he’s due to make $8 million or so in arbitration next year.
A Danks trade could be expanded to include left-handed reliever Matt Thornton, but that still wouldn’t pry away Banuelos from the Yankees. The White Sox will need to aim a little lower.