White Sox Acquire Tony Pena

As a Sox fan on first glance I winced. Allen has solid numbers & looked to be a major part of the future starting as early as 2010. I'll keep an open mind but it appears we gave away a young power hitting lefty for a soon to be journyman RHP. I pray you know what you're doing Kenny.

Huh?

I'm sorry, but this makes no sense from the Chicago side.

I know Pena is controlled for multiple years, but I still don't like this deal.

Thank god I don't have to watch that trainwreck anymore. Words of advice, Mr. Guillen, don't let him pitch against lefties.

As royals fans nearly jizz their pants.

I really like Brandon Allen and was looking forward to him being our future first baseman. However I think was a pretty good move to add more even more strength to the bullpen. Any Brandon Allen fans shouldn't be to upset. First base is not a hard position too fill when PK is done.

whyyyy????????????

"And who is the odd man out in the bullpen"

The name Gobble comes to mind.

Maybe this deal somehow helps the Sox position down the road if AZ moves Haren... right of first refusal?

odd man out? jimmy 'freakin' gobble.

i like it...1) it strengthens the major league roster 2)gives kw trade flexibility in 3 weeks when everyone will be screaming for relief pitchers & the w sox may be looking to add a starter 3) viciedo & flowers will be 1b/dh in the majors, so there was a surplus.

I like the move. Allen was blocked by at least 3 players and Pena has closer's stuff: 97 fastball/89 slider...hardly journeyman stuff...give him a chance..only pitching for about 5 years of orgnized ball

north side sox-
Pena is not closer material. He has no concentration on the situation. 7/16 in save opps in his career. He's more of a 7th inning guy. MAYBE an 8th inning guy, but that's a stretch.

why would the sox make pk a full time dh when for the first time in his career he really has become an excellent 1b? especially if the replacement is fields.

part of the reasoning for this trade, i believe, is kw is impressed with pk's play this year, making him comfortable enough to commit to pk at 1b. especially with his relatively cheap salary.

I don't mind this deal. If this team makes the playoffs we should have a legitimate bullpen. Now KW needs to go out and get starting pitching depth and maybe a 3B. Allen was blocked by 2 or 3 jitters in front of him. And they are better hitters.

"Yeah, but then the cupboard is bare at 3B and C if you consider Flowers and Viciedo 1B/DH types. I want to assume Beckham is the long term 2B over Getz."

The Sox just drafted C Josh Phegley who they like so much they staterd him in A ball.

"The Sox just drafted C Josh Phegley who they like so much they staterd him in A ball.

Posted by: MPM | July 07, 2009 at 09:05 PM"

What class? Theres more than one.

a sign that richard will be traded, with poreda moving into the starting rotation?

i gotta say, i'm scratching my head right now.

"What class? Theres more than one."

Posted by: 661dodgerblue | July 07, 2009 at 09:15 PM

class a kannapolis

Someone name one prospect that Kenny Williams traded that panned out for the other team. And don't say Young because he can't hit.

In fact, name any PLAYER that Kenny Williams traded and worked out for the other team.

so what would it take for the brewers to get davis?? a third best prospect? except melvin feels that the pitching is fine and needs no help. ha

i like this move, Konerko will resign with the sox after his current contract is up.

"This deal really isn't bad for the Sox. Sure you can say the whole power hitting lefty thing, but the fact is Flowers or Viciedo will be replacing Konerko at that spot anyway. I much rather have Flowers at first than Allen at first to be honest."

Agreed, I like this deal for the Sox. As most people have been saying, Pena has a great, but inconsistent arm. He wont be asked to be anything more than a 7th inning guy for the Sox with a deep bullpen that already has Jenks,Linebrink,Thornton,etc. Eventually he'll be taking over for Dotel's 7th inning role after this year. Hes, cheap and under control still. I like Allen, but again, as other have stated, he might not have a spot with Flowers or Viciedo likely being moved to 1B. Solid move for both teams involved.

Pena has also been a favorable gb% pitcher, with a favor HR rate. He projects well in the Cell.

“In fact, name any PLAYER that Kenny Williams traded and worked out for the other team.”

27 YO Nick Swisher (.242/.367/.484/.852 122 OPS+)
31 YO Javier Vazquez (112 IP, 3.05 ERA, 1.071 WHIP, 137 ERA+)
20 YO Chris Carter (.303/.405/.511/.915 in AA this season)
22 YO Ryan Sweeney (.278/.338/.371/.709 94 OPS+ in Center since trade)
26 YO David Aardsma (38.1 IP, 1.41 ERA, 1.148 WHIP, 301 ERA+)
26 YO Nick Masset (50.2 IP, 2.31 ERA, 1.046 WHIP, 193 ERA+)

That is just the last two years! Honestly, name a player Kenny traded that DIDN’T work out for his new team! It’s a smaller list.

Almost as bad as the Javy Vasquez deal.

apparently you sox fans havent seen this guy pitch...a heavy fastball and a nasty slider, just needs a little help between the ears and he'll be a quality setup fan for chicago or a closer for someone else

"apparently you sox fans havent seen this guy pitch...a heavy fastball and a nasty slider, just needs a little help between the ears and he'll be a quality setup fan for chicago or a closer for someone else"

Sounds like a classic Don Cooper project, hope it works out just like Matt Thornton - whom the Sox picked up for Joe Borchard.

Also - it's a good thing that trades work out for both sides.

Nobody who has watched Javy Vazquez is surprised that he is pitching like an ace on a non-competitive team (reference: 2007 White Sox). Nor is anyone disturbed that he is no longer in a Sox uniform.

Astralpanda,

So you know, it wasn’t a “give me any player he traded that worked out for their new team for whatever excuses we want to give” – it was straight who worked out for his new team. All those guys have and have worked out great.

Plus, the ironic thing is that each of those players (save Carter who is still just making the AA jump) could be a huge impact on the Sox current roster. Pods replaced by Swisher, Anderson/Wise replaced by Sweeney, some combination of Colon/Richard/Contreras replaced by Vazquez, and 2 strong BP arms added – the team is one of the best in the league.

Just dont give me that "he doesnt trade people that work out" crud. Kenny has made his fair share of bad to downright horrendous trades, no matter how many excuses people want to try and give.

ChiSoxKilla23,

There are plenty. But you only need to look at one single player to see two such horrendous deals

Send
22YO Fautino de los Santos (46th ranked prospect in game)
22YO Gio Gonzalez (56th ranked prospect in game)
23YO Ryan Sweeney (.278/.338/.371/.709 94 OPS+ in Center since trade)
For
27YO Nick Swisher (.219/.332/.410/.743 92 OPS+ in 08)

Then trade
28YO Nick Swisher (.243/.371/.483/.854 123 OPS+ in 09)
23YO Kanekoa Texeira (204 IP, 2.51 ERA, 1.191 WHIP in 4 minor league seasons)
For
24YO Jeff Marquez (596.1 IP, 4.00 ERA, 1.434 WHIP in 6 minor league seasons)
23YO Johnny Nunez (323.1 IP, 3.37 ERA, 1.253 WHIP in 4 minor league seasons)
27YO Wilson Betemit (.200/.280/.311/.591 53 OPS+ for Sox)

It is easy to question why they would ever send two of the top 50 prospects in the game, plus a solid CF, for a single (at the time) .251/.361/.464/.825 118 OPS+ hitter - such a package could land Halladay now. To trade him 12 months later for nothing more then Betemit and Marquez (since Texeira and Nunez basically cancel eachother out) only makes you scratch your head even more. Both of these deals can possibly be considered the worst trade of their respective season, and both just left the baseball world in shock wondering what he was thinking.

"Plus, the ironic thing is that each of those players (save Carter who is still just making the AA jump) could be a huge impact on the Sox current roster. Pods replaced by Swisher, Anderson/Wise replaced by Sweeney, some combination of Colon/Richard/Contreras replaced by Vazquez, and 2 strong BP arms added – the team is one of the best in the league. "

Pods is way more valuable than Swisher to the Sox. Ryan Sweeney would be a better 4th OFer than Anderson/Wise will be when Quentin returns, but we're talking about a 4th OFer here. Sweeney is not a good everyday player. Colon is not in the rotation and will not be - and if you don't understand why Vazquez is a 500 pitcher despite having ace stuff than you haven't been paying attention. Have you noticed what Contreras has done lately?

The only bad deal Williams has had was Swisher to the Yankees - but he had to go. Besides it was a blessing in disguise as the Sox never would have taken a flier on Pods if Swisher was still on the team.

In recent years, Williams has been very good.

"Plus, the ironic thing is that each of those players (save Carter who is still just making the AA jump) could be a huge impact on the Sox current roster. Pods replaced by Swisher, Anderson/Wise replaced by Sweeney, some combination of Colon/Richard/Contreras replaced by Vazquez, and 2 strong BP arms added – the team is one of the best in the league. "

Pods is way more valuable than Swisher to the Sox. Ryan Sweeney would be a better 4th OFer than Anderson/Wise will be when Quentin returns, but we're talking about a 4th OFer here. Sweeney is not a good everyday player. Colon is not in the rotation and will not be - and if you don't understand why Vazquez is a 500 pitcher despite having ace stuff than you haven't been paying attention. Have you noticed what Contreras has done lately?

The only bad deal Williams has had was Swisher to the Yankees - but he had to go. Besides it was a blessing in disguise as the Sox never would have taken a flier on Pods if Swisher was still on the team.

In recent years, Williams has been very good.

Pods is way more valuable than Swisher to the Sox.

Pods 2009 10.3 RAR, 1.0 WARP
Swish 2009 16.7 RAR, 1.7 WARP

See what you mean

“Ryan Sweeney would be a better 4th OFer than Anderson/Wise will be when Quentin returns, but we're talking about a 4th OFer here. Sweeney is not a good everyday player.”

Wrong
Sweeney 08 17.6 RAR, 1.8 WARP
Sweeney 09 10.6 RAR, 1.1 WARP

“Colon is not in the rotation and will not be”

He was – and wouldn’t have been if Vazquez was there instead

“- and if you don't understand why Vazquez is a 500 pitcher despite having ace stuff than you haven't been paying attention. Have you noticed what Contreras has done lately?”

I know exactly why he is a 500 pitcher. Over his career he has had some questionable run support and played for some poor teams.

“The only bad deal Williams has had was Swisher to the Yankees - but he had to go.”

Not true.

“Besides it was a blessing in disguise as the Sox never would have taken a flier on Pods if Swisher was still on the team.”

And when Pods sees his BAbip drop from .339, we will be in another one of those “get the bum out of here” spots – like we were just 2 years ago.

“In recent years, Williams has been very good.”

Says White Sox fans”

And to
“There are times a player just needs to go - Swisher is going to be a $10M bench player very soon. Please don't come back to me with his stats and precious OBP. He was replaced with Griffey because he was so bad down the stretch. Yeah - I'll put this in the bad column - but certainly not horrendous.”

If Swisher is so bad (bench player), then why trade 2 top 50 pitching prospects and an above average CFer with years of control for him? They were both horrendous, don’t kid yourself saying otherwise.

What you laughing at?

You might be laughing at my saying they were top prospects in that range. We know however, they were. So that doesn’t work.

THEN

You must be laughing at 2 prospects in that range landing Halladay. Let us see…
Carrasco (43rd) and Taylor (55th) with someone like maybe Mayberry being comparable to Sweeney’s spot (or a lower minors B-C range prospect). Yeah, that is pretty close to what is being talked about now regarding the team said to be the leader of the pact. So cant really be laughing at that either

SO

You can only be laughing at the Sox for giving up that much and getting someone White Sox fans are calling a “bench player”

I'm laughing at you!

I gotta call the Oakland A's and tell them that they can acquire the best pitcher in the AL for 2 mid level prospects and an average everyday outfielder....hahahaha!

Quit hating on KW, and man crushing on Swisher...He's not that good, thats why Ozzie BENCHED him.

"He was 12-16 last year with a 4.67 ERA last year with a division winner".

But his peripheral stats show that he pitched through a lot of bad luck to have 16 losses. He struck out 200 in 204 innings, and he actually gave up less HR than he did the year before - when he had a 3.74 ERA.

Suzysman,

The swisher deal, at the time, seemed off but the prospects never paned out, and swisher never paned out either, so they cancel out. De Los Santos was a one year wonder prospect and ended up getting tommy john surgery. Gio can't buy a spot in the rotation and his value is almost zero. Sweeney is below average and is JUST a 4th OF. You just look dumb trying to argue that swisher is better than Pods right now, yankee fans hate swisher and his .238 AVG. He started off hot but now his a major liability to them.Just look at the guys hes gotten compared to who has lost. Javier Vazquez can't be trusted in a big game. Hes always been called a mental midget, and playing in the NL helps.

Added though trades:
Floyd for Freddy Garcia, Gio
Thome for Gio, Rowand
Quentin for carter
Danks for McCarthy
Thorton for Borchard
contreras for Loaiza
2005 version of pods for C. lee
F. Garcia for reed and olivo

The last three where one of the main reasons they won the WS. KW is a beast