The MLB Trade Deadline Could Be Dictated by One of the Worst Teams Ever

Getty Images/Ringer illustration Rarely has a team been as terrible as these Chicago White Sox. And rarely has a terrible team attracted this much interest on the trade market. How did the Sox get so bad? And how did they come to hold the keys to the deadline? On Thursday night, two unsurprising, interconnected events transpired in Major League Baseball: Contending teams started making major moves in advance of next week's trade deadline, and the Chicago White Sox lost. The deadline is next Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET, so it's about time teams swung into action and fueled the flames of hot stove grill season. The free-falling Mariners, suddenly a game behind the division-leading Astros in the American League West, sent two prospects and a player to be named later to the Rays for outfielder Randy Arozarena. The Diamondbacks, a game behind the Padres in pursuit of the National League's third wild card, dealt a pair of prospects to the Marlins for reliever A.J. Puk. And on Friday, the Red Sox, a game beyond the Royals in the race for the AL's third wild card, traded for Dodgers starter James Paxton. Bubble teams trying to get better by addressing deficiencies; long shots and cellar dwellers...