MLB offseason trade grades and what's next: Chicago White Sox get Lance Lynn from Texas Rangers

The Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers have made the biggest trade of this hot stove season with veteran starting pitcher Lance Lynn headed to Chicago for right-hander Dane Dunning and a pitching prospect.

Who won the trade? How much does this help the White Sox in their quest for a 2021 World Series? What does this mean for the rebuilding Rangers? ESPN MLB experts Jesse Rogers and David Schoenfield weigh in.

Grade this trade for the White Sox

It's an A for the Sox, especially when you take into consideration their walking orders for the winter. They'll spend, but just not on the big fish. Lance Lynn comes at a low cost, just $8 million for 2021, but he'll outpitch that salary even in an average year. And if Michael Kopech returns from a one-year hiatus, then he replaces Dunning in the rotation going forward and the Sox are no worse for wear. Considering Drew Smyly just signed for $11 million, Lynn is a steal. -- Jesse Rogers

B. Lynn has certainly been one of the better starters the past two seasons and has deservedly picked up Cy Young votes each of the past two years. The $8 million salary is a steal. There is also nothing in his stuff that suggests a drop-off is coming, although he did serve up 13 home runs in 84 innings, even though the new ballpark in Arlington looked like a pretty good pitcher's park. So that's a potential concern, plus they gave up a pretty good young pitcher in Dunning for just one year of Lynn. Lynn projects as an upgrade, but not necessarily a big one and this trade could look bad in a few years if Dunning develops. -- David Schoenfield

More trade grades: Angels get closer Iglesias from Reds

Grade this trade for the Rangers

Solid B. Dunning isn't a long-term project. He's already a big leaguer and with Lynn in his final year of his contract, the Rangers could not expect the moon in return. However, considering his $8 million price and his workhorse nature, was there even a better prospect to be had? Obviously, Texas didn't think so. Also, we'll never know if they could have gotten more for Lynn during this past summer's deadline when teams are more desperate. -- Rogers

B. While I do like Dunning, he's a guy who relies more on a low-spin sinking fastball than the explosive four-seamer up in the zone that so many teams prefer these days. Maybe that limits his projection in the minds of some, but he did have a solid enough strikeout rate in his seven starts (24.8%) in 2020. He also has the complete arsenal of pitches with a slider, curveball and changeup. It's not a super sexy profile and he already had Tommy John surgery as a minor leaguer, but he looks like a guy who can be in the Texas rotation for the next five years. -- Schoenfield

What do you think the White Sox will do next?

The Sox grabbed a left-handed hitter they so desperately needed just after making the Lynn trade, but is Adam Eaton the answer? He might be if he is a lefty complementary piece but with only a couple spots open in the lineup, right now, there's a ton of pressure on him to be that guy against righties. If the White Sox bring on another dominant left-handed hitter to be their DH, then the Eaton signing will look better. -- Rogers

They added Eaton for right field, but another left-handed bat for DH still makes sense. Michael Brantley makes sense and Kyle Schwarber would be an intriguing roll of the dice. Joc Pederson is another good fit. -- Schoenfield

What do you think the Rangers will do next?

Continue on a mini rebuild/retool. The division they play in is top heavy and they aren't ready to compete, but they aren't years away either. Their only problem is they don't have a lot of sell-high candidates. Perhaps moving more pitching -- a valuable commodity no matter what -- will net them more help. Kyle Gibson isn't coming off a great year, but has some value as a workhorse in his own right. -- Rogers

This looks like a pretty bad roster to me, so I agree with Jesse -- there isn't much else to trade here. Joey Gallo has two seasons left of team control and if the Rangers aren't going to be contenders this year or next, they may as well look to trade him. Trouble is, he hit .181/.301/.378 last season and .181 hitters don't usually bring much in return. But he did win a Gold Glove in right field and there's that tantalizing upside we saw in 70 games in 2019. If he can hit .250, he's a star, but his career mark is now .208. Still, lefty batter, good defense, right fielder ... maybe there's another trade with the White Sox to come. -- David Schoenfield