The White Sox are changing identities.
One day both will look back at Tuesday's transformation as a positive development, a difficult but necessary move, especially for the Sox after doing the same thing for too many years and expecting a different result.
Pulling off the organization's biggest blockbuster since the White Flag trade of 1997, the Sox sent Sale to the Red Sox for four minor-league players: infielder Yoan Moncada pitcher Michael Kopech, outfielder Luis Basabe and pitcher Victor Diaz. The inclusion of Moncada, ranked the No. 1 prospect by Baseball America, and Kopech, a 20-year-old with a 100-mph fastball, made the Red Sox package more attractive than what the Nationals and Astros reportedly offered.