Renteria 'surprised' White Sox haven't traded Cabrera

Chicago White Sox manager Rick Renteria wasn't expecting the club's oldest position player to still be on the roster at this point.

Despite having made three trades in the last two weeks alone, the White Sox haven't dealt slugging outfielder Melky Cabrera, who's currently in the final year of his contract and could be a welcome addition for a playoff-bound team searching for a rental bat.

The White Sox, of course, are full-steam ahead on their rebuild after trading away former ace Jose Quintana and veteran Todd Frazier (among others) for a bundle of prospects, leaving Renteria shocked no other club has plucked the 32-year-old veteran.

"Honestly yeah, to be honest," Renteria told CSN Chicago's Dan Hayes. "To me he's a premier Major League baseball player who has been playing outstanding defense.

"And he has been for us one of the two or three guys who has been timing his hitting in terms of driving in runs when we need them, putting together really good at-bats when we need them. Just playing the game. Yeah, kind of surprised."

Of course there are a few reasons why Cabrera hasn't been moved, the biggest of which might be financial.

Cabrera's $15-million salary in 2017 is the second-highest on Chicago's payroll this season behind starter James Shields, and clubs may be hesitant to acquire the slugger unless the White Sox agree to pay off a significant portion of his remaining salary, approximately $6.3 million, according to Hayes.

Finally, many contending teams might not currently be in the market for a left fielder, especially one as shaky defensively as Cabrera, whose minus-6 defensive runs saved mark ranks the fourth-worst among all left fielders in baseball, behind only Minnesota Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario (minus-8), Atlanta Braves veteran Matt Kemp (minus-7), and Oakland Athletics slugger Khris Davis (minus-11), according to Fangraphs.