Nationals hopeful they're closing in on trade for lefty Sale

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Nothing is done until it's done. And nothing is done in this case. But the Nationals front office went to bed late Monday night hopeful they were closing in on a blockbuster trade for White Sox left-hander Chris Sale, one that would likely cost them at least two of their top four prospects.

Club officials spent a good part of Day One of the Winter Meetings engaged in talks with the White Sox and by early evening had made significant progress toward a deal for Sale, according to multiple sources familiar with the negotiations.

They broke for dinner and spent rest of the night socializing at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, with no deal finalized but the ball now in the White Sox's court, with their team officials deciding whether to accept the Nationals' offer, any other last-minute offers that may have come in from other clubs or whether to continue holding onto Sale for now.

Sources familiar with both clubs' thinking did not expect a trade to be completed before Tuesday at the earliest.

If the White Sox ultimately agree to the package of prospects the Nationals have offered - and indications are that outfielder Victor Robles and right-hander Lucas Giolito are involved - the Nationals will have added yet another frontline starter to a rotation that already boasts a two-time Cy Young Award winner in Max Scherzer, a strikeout champion and two-time All-Star in Stephen Strasburg and a right-hander with a .600 winning percentage and 3.01 career ERA in Tanner Roark, not to mention one more spot available to either Joe Ross or Gio Gonzalez.

Sale's pedigree is worthy of inclusion in that group. The 27-year-old is 74-50 with a 3.00 ERA in seven big-league seasons. He led the American League in strikeouts in 2015. He's a five-time All-Star and four-time top-five finisher in Cy Young Award voting.

And he would be the Nationals' property for the next three seasons, if they so choose, set to make $12 million in 2017 with club options in both 2018 ($12.5 million) and 2019 ($13.5 million).

Sale's annual salaries may be relatively affordable, but he nonetheless would come at a steep cost to the Nationals: Several of their elite prospects, the type of young players general manager Mike Rizzo historically has refused to trade away.

Rizzo would not deal any of his top four prospects - Robles, Giolito, Trea Turner or Reynaldo Lopez - at the July trade deadline when he was seeking an experienced closer. And when asked Monday afternoon whether those type of players still remain untouchable this winter, he suggested his mindset has not changed.

"Our strategy very rarely wavers," he said. "We've got a plan in place. We have a strategy that we employ. Prospects are important to us for the viability of the long-term, like we talked about before, of the organization."

Sale, however, may be too good a prize to pass up, convincing even Rizzo to part ways with more than one of his top young players.

The only remaining question as Monday night turned into Tuesday morning: Would the White Sox say yes to the offer on the table?