Column: Who is a must trade? Who is untouchable? What to watch for as Chicago Cubs and White Sox begin the 2nd half.

The Chicago Cubs and White Sox find themselves in similar positions Friday as the second half begins following the All-Star break.

Both teams are under .500 and a good distance behind the leaders of their respective divisions yet close enough to get back in contention with a prolonged stretch of winning baseball.

Both have several talented and proven players who could be traded for prospects by the Aug. 1 deadline if management decides the playoffs are a pipe dream in 2023.

And both teams have less than two weeks before the Bears start training camp and suck up all the oxygen on talk radio and in the media.

The Cubs begin the second half at home with a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox, part of a 10-game homestand that could decide their fate at the deadline. Ditto the Sox, who open an equally important nine-game trip in Atlanta, where they’ll face the best team in baseball.

Here are some things we learned in the first half and what to look for down the stretch.

Cubs: Dansby Swanson. A left heel injury kept him out of the All-Star Game, but Swanson has lived up to the hype that accompanied his seven-year, $177 million contract, with a 2.9 WAR and superb play at short. His power numbers still need to increase.

White Sox: Luis Robert Jr. He’s seventh in the majors in fWAR (3.7) and with 26 home runs has a shot at breaking Albert Belle’s single-season franchise record of 49 homers. Cutting down on his strikeout percentage (28.5) will be the key.

Cubs: Jameson Taillon. A 6.15 ERA isn’t what anyone expected when Taillon signed a four-year, $68 million deal. The Cubs hope a brilliant outing last Friday in his return to Yankee Stadium — eight shutout innings of one-hit ball in a 3-0 win — can turn things around. If not, they’re in trouble.

White Sox: Tim Anderson. Having the lowest on-base percentage in the majors (. 259) is bad enough, but manager Pedro Grifol refused to move him from the leadoff spot until recently. Even worse, Anderson looks like he doesn’t want to be here.

Cubs: Patrick Wisdom. After an early home run surge, Wisdom has regressed to his old ways, as evidenced by a whopping 39.1% strikeout rate, second worst in majors behind Joey Gallo (40.9%). Despite the obvious power he brings, the Cubs offense doesn’t click when he’s in the lineup.

Sox: Lance Lynn. The sooner the better for the Sox and Lynn, whose last start against the Toronto Blue Jays — a one-hit gem over seven innings — was a rarity in a season of clunkers. An elite strikeout rate (11.1 K’s per nine innings) should convince someone to bite in spite of his 6.03 ERA, second worst among qualified starters.

Cubs: Kyle Hendricks. It makes perfect sense to shop Hendricks if the Cubs drop out of contention. He has pitched well enough to bring back some value. But the karmic ramifications of dealing the last man standing from the 2016 champions could come back to bite team President Jed Hoyer.

White Sox: Dylan Cease. A 3-3 record and 4.30 ERA suggest a major drop-off from his 2022 season, when Cease finished second to Justin Verlander in Cy Young Award voting. But the Sox should build a rotation around Cease, especially with Lynn and Lucas Giolito probably gone by Aug. 1.

Cubs: A 7-6, 11-inning win over the Milwaukee Brewers on July 4 at American Family Field had a little bit of everything, including a postgame rant from David Ross on the umpiring and the roof. Justin Steele said the game “was drunk.” He was correct.

White Sox: A 12-9 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Rays on April 30 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Andrew Vaughn’s walk-off, three-run home run capped a seven-run ninth that ended a 10-game losing streak. The Sox failed to capitalize on the uplifting moment.

Cubs: An 8-6 road loss to the Brewers on July 3 after blowing a 6-0 lead was devastating. Swanson said afterward that the Cubs had to “man up.” They won four of their next six against the Brewers and New York Yankees heading into the break.

White Sox: An 8-7 loss to the Rays on April 21 at Tropicana Field. The Sox led 7-5 in the ninth when Reynaldo Lopez gave up a home run, a single and a two-run homer to the only three batters he faced. It was the beginning of the end.

Cubs: Miguel Amaya. A .976 OPS against left-handers suggests he should get more playing time. But with three catchers he’s not getting enough chances.

White Sox: Jake Burger. Plate discipline needs to improve, but 19 home runs in 241 at-bats is hard to overlook. Daniel Palka hit 27 homers for the Sox in 2018, but was out of the majors by 2020. Hopefully Burger is no Palka.

Cubs: Christopher Morel. His .972 slugging percentage ranks ninth in majors among players with 150 or more at-bats. Demoting Morel to Triple-A Iowa in spring training was a head-scratching decision.

White Sox: Lucas Giolito. He leads the American League with 19 starts and allowed two or fewer runs in 13. He wants to stay with the Sox but likely is a goner as their top trade chip.

Cubs: Bullpen arms. Adbert Alzolay has sealed the closer’s role, and Mark Leiter Jr. and Julian Merryweather have stepped up in high-leverage situations. At least Hoyer won’t have to start over again with his bullpen in 2024.

White Sox The food at Sox Park remains high quality.

Cubs: Power outage. Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, Trey Mancini and the since demoted Matt Mervis all were expected to hit for more power.

White Sox: Catching issues. Yasmani Grandal continues on his downward slope and Seby Zavala has yet to show he’s an everyday catcher.

Cubs: Hoyer has to decide whether to deal Marcus Stroman or risk losing him for nothing if he opts out of his contract, as expected. Stroman’s popularity with teammates and fans can’t enter into the equation if Hoyer is true to his words about doing what’s right for the organization.

White Sox: General manager Rick Hahn has never executed a major summer fire sale like Hoyer in 2021. But if any team deserves to be blown up, this is the one. Getting players who can contribute in ‘24 is a must since the farm system is lacking.

Cubs: Ross weathered a storm of criticism in the first half but remains in high standing with Hoyer. Change is unlikely, but another sub-. 500 finish could put him on the hot seat in ‘24.

White Sox: Most Sox fans have absolved Grifol of blame for the team’s underachieving ways, but lineup decisions and fundamental mistakes fall on his shoulders. If Hahn remains as GM, Grifol will be back next season.