SI.com’s Jon Heyman gives his take on the White Sox-Giants Joe Crede trade talks:
The White Sox apparently haven’t been enamored by what the Giants have to offer for third baseman Joe Crede. A Giants person conceded, "We badly need bats,” but they aren’t to the point where they’ll give up any of their better pitchers to get them. One possibility could be hard-throwing reliever Jonathan Sanchez, though it appears now that Crede may not be traded until closer to this summer’s deadline.
White Sox GM Kenny Williams has previously said that Josh Fields will play third base in 2008, whether in the Majors or at Triple A. He doesn’t have much left to learn there, however. Ken Rosenthal explored a scenario that would allow the Sox to play both Crede and Fields at the corners – a trade of Paul Konerko before the veteran’s 10 and 5 no-trade rights kick in.
There is no reason that the Giants should feel motivated to include the promising Sanchez to acquire one year of Crede. The 25 year-old southpaw has a "sneaky fastball and plus change-up," according to Baseball America. He’s whiffed more than a batter per inning in his 92-inning big league career.
