Trevor Story trade rumors: ESPN’s Jeff Passan makes a bold prediction

As the Colorado Rockies prepare to open the unofficial second half of the season tonight at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers, expect the trade rumors around Trevor Story to increase significantly.

While the All-Star shortstop took part in the Home Run Derby on Monday night at Coors Field, Story was also answering plenty of questions about his future in purple pinstripes and what might come next as the July 30 trade deadline inches ever closer. Plenty of other people at the All-Star Game were trying to figure out what might come next for Story, and that includes some of the most-read writers covering Major League Baseball today.

Here is what ESPN’s Jeff Passan is predicting for Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story before the MLB trade deadline hits

Jeff Passan, an MLB insider for ESPN, was asked by Sean Keeler of The Denver Post if he thought Story would be traded and, if so, which team might land him in a deal. Passan is predicting that the Chicago White Sox will make a trade for Story, landing the shortstop in the Windy City and in the middle of the Southsiders’ chase for the American League pennant.

We have already discussed what it might look like for the White Sox to trade for Story and if that’s a reality in this article. However, while we may not see it as a fit, when Passan makes a prediction, it certainly raises our eyebrows.

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It also follows the line of rumors from earlier in the summer from Bob Nightengale of USA Today (subscription required) who said the White Sox would be interested in playing Story at second base. With Tim Anderson entrenched as the Chicago shortstop, the thought makes some sense … until you realize Story has never played second base in his MLB career (which began in April of 2016) and did for just 29 games of his minor league career.

While there may be plenty of trade rumors swirling about Story, there is still no guarantee that the Rockies will actually deal Story, despite his contract ending at the end of this season and reports that Story will likely play elsewhere in 2022, regardless of whether Colorado trades him or not in 2021. Rockies interim general manager Bill Schmidt said during the All-Star break that there is no pressure to trade Story and Colorado is “not just giving this player away.”

If the Rockies were to keep Story throughout the 2021 season, a possibility would be that the club would extend a qualifying offer to him. That would at least guarantee the Rockies a compensatory draft pick if Story left and was signed by another team.