White Sox GM Kenny Williams spoke to reporters yesterday, indicating that his phone lines are buzzing but he won’t be trading his future free agents for prospects. Talent for talent is the name of the game, though the Jermaine Dye/Bobby Abreu talks have apparently died.
The Sox are given a meager 1.7% chance to make the playoffs, according to Baseball Prospectus and PECOTA. And I rounded up. They’re in fourth place, seven games back in the AL Central. They’re in fifth for the wild card, 4.5 games out. If we try this exercise without PECOTA projections, the chances still seem bleak at 4.1%. Using a third method, Elo, the Sox have an 11.2% chance. I’d lean toward the latter; while the competition is fierce, 4.5 games doesn’t seem insurmountable.
Williams is an optimist, which fans have to appreciate. He even mentioned that he’s up for the "rent-a-player scenario." That could mean acquiring even more impending free agents, like perhaps Adam Dunn.
Like all other teams, Williams has almost two months to decide if his team is truly a contender. The worst outcome would be treading water for that time period.
