Report: Failing a trade, White Sox may let John Danks go on waiver claim

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The Chicago White Sox continue to explore possible trades for left-handed starter John Danks, but despite reported interest from the New York Yankees, the team may struggled to move him.

There are $30 million reasons why that may be the case, as Danks has plenty of money owed to him over the remainder of this season and the following two years. With a 4.40 ERA and declining fastball velocity, that's a heavy commitment for a back-end rotation upgrade.

Failing a trade, the White Sox may even try to unload Danks' salary by putting him through waivers, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

From their report:

The Yankees need starting pitching and are known to be asking about Danks, but they might not be willing to give up much, which could pose a predicament for the Sox.

“I think they’ll have a hard time moving him,’’ a major-league source said. “Anybody who throws 200 innings in the big leagues is worth his weight in gold. But I don’t think his weight is worth $30 million worth of gold.’’

Trades through waivers can be made after Thursday’s deadline. If Danks isn’t dealt by then, he’ll likely be run through waivers.

“The question posed to the White Sox then is, would they let him go for nothing on a waiver claim? I think they would,’’ the source said. “But I just don’t see someone taking that contract on.’’

While Danks was an innings eater and a serviceable mid-rotation arm from 2008 to 2011, his performance has declined noticeably since 2012 shoulder surgery:

Getting out from under his deal would allow the White Sox the financial flexibility to upgrade elsewhere moving forward, but as the report indicates there may not be takers, even via the waiver process.