Pirates, White Sox should still swing Alex Rios trade, Jim Bowden says

Yes, it's Jim Bowden, but we don't exactly have a million trade rumors right now, so what the heck. Bowden proposes (Insider-only) that the Pirates send Harold Ramirez and Willy Garcia to the White Sox for Alex Rios. The price for Rios seems to have come down quite a bit since Bowden proposed sending Gregory Polanco, Nick Kingham and Jordy Mercer to Chicago for Rios and Alexei Ramirez. I wouldn't feel great about Bowden's new proposal, but he's a lot closer to Rios' actual trade value here.

Anyway, this isn't going to happen (and, to be fair, Bowden is realistic about how unlikely it is). The Pirates have the best record in the majors, and as Bowden notes, that's going to make it difficult to make waiver trades. Not that Harold Ramirez is really a top prospect yet, but 18-year-olds who can hit .320/.389/.455 in the NY-Penn League don't grow on trees; If Rios is truly worth a prospect of Ramirez's caliber, another team will claim Rios before he gets to the Bucs. It's hard to imagine Rios getting past the Rangers, in particular, who are now without Nelson Cruz.