White Sox Acquire Alex Rios

Makes sense for both teams. I wonder if this means the end for some of the vets. Whitesox could be good the rest of the way. However, these last two deals help for next year as much as this year.

waivers? huh? you mean we can just pick up quality players..and not give anything to the other team for them? why didn't anyone let me know?

Dayton Moore and the 7 chumps (Miggy, Bucky, Farnsy, Guilleny, Jacobsy, Cruzy and Teaheny)

i think the sox have to take on all of the contract. i have no idea where he is going to play this season.

Can't believe the Jays got absolutely nothing. Rios' contract isn't good, but he's better than alot of other OF's out there. Oh well, probably good news for my fantasy team so long as he starts

bobhamelin-
I would think Rios would allow a trade to a contending team, don't you?

The contract is fine. He's not a stud but he's a solid all around player. I think this is a steal for the White Sox.

MLB keeps acting like a cap is not needed yet almost every GM is crying about the contracts.

Wow, this has to be one of the single stupidest things I have seen a team do. For them to do this and claim it is for financial reasons is almost a complete joke. If they are so burdened for cash, maybe they should have traded Halladay for a rather large return and free up enough cash to trade Rios solely for the best package you can get. Now they let Rios and his fair-to-good contract go for nothing and run the risk of getting even less for Halladay in the offseason or even letting him walk for just DPs? If I was a Jay's fan, I would be hitting the roof.

That said, absolutely amazing steal for the Sox! They now have their biggest hole (CF) filled for years with a peak-age player on a fair-to-good dollar contract. He will near instantly become a fantastic player for them, and probably makes them the favorites for the Al-Central. I cant wait to go see him in action for them.

this is good for the jays. its means that they can try pony up some money for a potential roy halladay deal. if not that, it just keeps them flexible for signing draft picks and whatever, which is a plus. i think it had to be done.

The Blue Jays are getting something they are freeing up 12 million dollars to spend on other players in the off season. See who they get with the money and technically that is who the traded Rios for. As for Josh Fields I think the Jays feel they can get better players with the money they would have spent on his salary. I would say this means this is Dye's last season in Chicago.

"As a fan of the Sox, however, I wonder what Williams long term plans are. It seems to indicate that this is Dye's last year with the team."

This is a possibility. My initial thought was this is Thome's last year with the team and Dye moves in the DH role.

Dye and his $11.5M has a mutual option for next year (which means both parties need to accept it) and Thome at $13M is a FA.

One or both will either be gone or at a much-reduced contract next season.

My money's on Dye coming back to DH, and the Sox acquiring a new lefty corner outfielder.

I understand the 'freeing up the payroll' bit but i still think they could have received a couple of lower prospects plus 100% salary relief by the deadline. In this light, I still dont get why they didnt take the best offered package for Halladay seeing as his value will only go down this off season.

I get alot of GM's moves but not Riccardi's.

This is really a puzzling move by the Sox. Rios is not worth the money he is being paid, he doesn't get on base. Good move by the Jays. I wish the Cubs could unload Soriano and Bradley for nothing.

Pretty sure Dye will be in RF, Rios in CF, Quentin in LF.

A lot of people here are overestimating Rios I think. He's a decent player, but he has vastly underperformed expectations. His OPS has gone from .852 to .798 to .744 the last three years, and he has $60 million left on his contract.

For a team with money it's not a terrible contract IF he hits 25 HR and steals 25 bases for you. But if you're a smaller team counting on him to hit 30 HR and drive in 100 runs from the 3 spot, then his contract is way overpriced for what he really provides.

This is NOT the same guy who was blossoming into an all-star at age 25.

scottie, Rios clause does not apply to waivers. you are incorrect.

Great move by the Blue Jays.

Also, after reading these articles the last few days, I get the distinct impression that most people have NO clue how the relatively simple waivers process works.

Just last year they wanted Tim Lincecum in return!!!

PSSSH!!

Yeah, Dye or Thome aren't coming back next year, although both will find jobs. I would prefer to have JD in the DH role and let Thome go(sadly, my favorite Sox player).

I am impressed with the moves KW has made, it's clear he wasn't going to allow a repeat of last winter. They might not be done with the waiver wire. Rios' contract might not be that bad when we see what OFs will make this offseason (because there are few quality ones) and in a few years when Rios' contract is over. In a couple years this contract will look like a much better deal.

10 mill for peavy/rios very risky

Unfortunately, the sox cannot let thome go and keep dye for DH... there would be NO LEFTY power in the line up. You'd have Konerko, Dye, Rios, Quentin, Beckham, Ramirez... then what? scotty, getz and AJ from the left?

I think the Quentin, Rios, Dye outfield and thome still at DH would be great offensively but, who's bats leadoff?

"This is really a puzzling move by the Sox. Rios is not worth the money he is being paid, he doesn't get on base. Good move by the Jays. I wish the Cubs could unload Soriano and Bradley for nothing."

Player-ability / rate wise shows he is not what people think he is based off this seasons superficial numbers.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/rios-wells

Its a really good read

For all the back and forth discussions about his market value, I think this indicates that the Jays felt getting up from under his contract was worth getting nothing in return.

Very good deal for the Sox, but as 1 poster mentioned it's amazing that the ays simply didn't move him before the deadline and at least get a couple of B/C level prospects for him.

Chris:

Rios wasn't traded.

Great move for Toronto. Not so much for ChiSox.

60mil freed up lets them buy much better player in FA, if they choose this offseason.

This has to be JP's last season with the Jays. Clearly there was no long-term planning with the Jays and when they didn't win when he wanted them to the game was over.

As a huge Jays fan I see this as very dark times ahead. As for the fans who think this frees up money for Halladay, you are living in a dream world. Let's review what 2009's payroll would have been at the start of 2008. Frank Thomas was released so we would not have to pay him for 2009 (I agree with the move but it must have been budgeted for 2009). AJ Burnett leaves in the offseason. Jays save 11 million a year.

This 11 million is used to bring in no players in what is the cheapest free agent market in recent memory. Rolen traded and saves 11 million for 2010. Rios traded for financial reasons. Now do you really think there is going to be money for Halladay? Not likely. Let's hope they can get a creative GM like Terry Ryan to start over.

I predict that Rios will do well with the White Sox. He was so lazy with the Jays and needed a new environment. He also has a lot of protection in the lineup.

Oh RayRay I bet you feel good about yourself.

Richardi surely meant to put Vernon Wells on waivers and let a team have him for nothing, right? He couldn't have meant to give away Rios for nothing.

Who cares about next year? This year it looks like it means Rios instead of Wise. Hmmmmmmmm. Great steal by Kenny.

number 5 should say 'GAVE away rios'.

After reading that fangraphs article, I like this move a lot more. I liked it before, but that was reassuring.

I believe this means the end of Scott Podsednik playing every day. Getz will lead-off in his place. I don't like that, but a great lead-off hitter is not essential and Pods is only slightly more productive than Getz anyway.

Now the question is, how do the White Sox solve the infield problem? Ramirez has been a terrible defender (he wasn't that good last year either), Getz is underwhelming offensively, and Beckham doesn't belong at 3B.

so Riccardi held onto Halladay because he believes they can compete next year, then moves one of his top offense threats for nothing? great

“As a huge Jays fan I see this as very dark times ahead.”

As an outsider, I still just cant get over how horrific this move was for you guys. I mean, people on the radio are already saying they should have traded him when his batting line was higher to get a pretty good return. (these same people of course being some of the tools saying they should have done just this a few days ago).

But really, they could have gotten a rather extreme package for Halladay and then freeded up enough cash to pay Rios until they get the offer worth taking. Getting nothing for Rios then accepting less for Halladay (including as little as two DPs) is a joke, they were the two most valuable tradable-players the team had on the club and the return for both is now going to be lower then what they could have gotten for Halladay alone!

I’m just in absolute shock. A few months from now everyone is going to be talking about what fantastic luck this was for the Sox! And I think I agree with you, this should be JPs last season as he doesn’t seem to have any idea what he is doing.

Suzysman,

With all due respect to Fangraphs, their opinion isn't necessarily the right one. Obviously there are many others who have analyzed it differently. Only Ricciardi's opinion matters right now and it remains to be seen whether or not he made the right move. One thing I don't agree with, I really don't think Rios is the type of player you build around. He's a complementary player and he's better off as being a piece of the puzzle rather than the centerpiece...and it's apparent that the Jays have decided that 12 million is too much for a complementary player.

How is this a steal for the White Sox? Has anyone seen his stats this year? He's really not that good and for what he's getting paid? The Sox have handcuffed themselves with bad payroll in two players that are sketchy at best. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

@ChicagoMike

Finally someone gets it.

PL,

I tend to agree. I think Rios is overvalued by some. I think he's a perfect fit for the Sox, who will pay for Rios by letting Thome or Dye go. The key, however, is what Ricciardi does with an extra $60 million in his pocket...I'd wait until then before celebrating.

Rios is a multi-tool stud and I think he'll fit in nicely on the South Side. The way Jerry Reinsdorf is sucking up huge contracts, I almost wonder if Obama isn't providing some sort of bailout protection so he can have another chance to toss one of his lame eefus pitches come October as he sports the black jacket. The AL Central ain't a race decided by general managers' moves----JERRY REINSDORF JUST BOUGHT THE POT. If Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen can't beat out the Gardenhire's pirahnnas and Leyland's Tiggers then there will be hell to pay....The end appears near for Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome and Scotty Podsednik, but they seem like pros able to fight through and go out with a blaze of glory. The Sox defense is still shaky especially Ramirez at SS and AJ on throws to second, but Rios will help in outfield...this team is now poised to compete with the big boys aka Angels and Yankees...Red Sox might need to re-visit Arroyo and keep sniffing for an upgrade at shortstop...The price of poker in AL keeps getting bid up....Who is next?

How is this a steal for the White Sox? Has anyone seen his stats this year? He's really not that good and for what he's getting paid? The Sox have handcuffed themselves with bad payroll in two players that are sketchy at best. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Posted by: ChicagoMike | August 10, 2009 at 06:36 PM

So does that mean if a team claimed Dice K off waivers it is not a steal? Why don't we wait until he actually plays a game in Chicago before we call him a steal or a mistake, shall we?

"So does that mean if a team claimed Dice K off waivers it is not a steal? Why don't we wait until he actually plays a game in Chicago before we call him a steal or a mistake, shall we?"

think he'll make it out tonight to seattle?

cuz that would be pretty awesome.

Even if there is no $60M, getting out of a terrible, terrible contract of an over-rated player who's blocking a superior talent is a great move.

That fangraphs article wasn't an opinion... It was facts. Rios is still a productive player, and above average at that.

Looking at the OPS "free-fall" is shortsighted and superficial. Let's look at Jim Thome's OPS from ages 26-29:

25: 1.062
26: 1.001
27: .997
28: .967
29: .929

Looks like he is on the decline... The next two years his OPS was 1.040, and a career high 1.122. Obviously they are different kinds of hitters and at the bottom of this "free-fall" Thome is still a better hitter than Rios ever will be.

That isn't the point. The point is that the 5 years straight of a lower OPS doesn't mean anything.

Regardless, since the All-Star break Rios has had an OPS of .805. He very well might end up higher than .798 this year.

"Wow, this has to be one of the single stupidest things I have seen a team do. For them to do this and claim it is for financial reasons is almost a complete joke. If they are so burdened for cash, maybe they should have traded Halladay for a rather large return and free up enough cash to trade Rios solely for the best package you can get. Now they let Rios and his fair-to-good contract go for nothing and run the risk of getting even less for Halladay in the offseason or even letting him walk for just DPs? If I was a Jay's fan, I would be hitting the roof.

That said, absolutely amazing steal for the Sox! They now have their biggest hole (CF) filled for years with a peak-age player on a fair-to-good dollar contract. He will near instantly become a fantastic player for them, and probably makes them the favorites for the Al-Central. I cant wait to go see him in action for them."

THIS.

Go Kenny. This was an awesome move for the Sox and it may just be the difference in the Al Central. You get one of the best CF's in baseball, a position that has troubled the Sox forever, and you get him for a fair contract (being conservative, I think this is a very good contract for the team, I believe Rios will outperform this contract rather easily), while giving up nothing. I don't get it. Toronto just gave up a very good CF making market value (probably less then that) for absolutely nothing. More power to the Sox.

For the people who still think Rios' deal is a bad one, come on, lets step away from batting average, think about position value, realize we are in the year 2009, defense matters a lot. This guy was a 13.5 WAR player from 2006-2008. He is very, very good, and he is still young enough to break out offensively the way people expected him too. If that happens, Alex Rios is a monster.

u guys are failing to realize its not an instant $60 million in savings for the jays since the contract goes til 2014. they only save about $9.5 million next year.
but it is nice to have the $60+ million off the books and off the mind of the jays, i still see this move as a win for the sox and a loss for the jays.

for the jays: when have they ever shown they can bring in a stud in free agency without completely overpaying for the guy at the time of the deal?? the fact is NO ONE really wants to play in toronto so that is why when the jays move key pieces they NEED to get young, controllable talent/prospects in return.

the aj burnett signing for them turned out to be a pretty good investment for them remember how ridiculously overpaid he was compared to the rest of the league at the time? also see bj ryan and the extension given to wells since he wanted more to stay in toronto....

"He is very, very good, and he is still young enough to break out offensively the way people expected him too. If that happens, Alex Rios is a monster."

Sure. And there's also a chance that Jim Edmonds returns to baseball and wins a gold glove. Be realistic.

Facts? Things like OPS are facts I suppose...but whether or not you think they determine a players overall worth is an opinion. And whether you think those numbers make someone worth 60 million is also an opinion. Whether or not you think Rios is a player to build around is also an opinion. Numbers are numbers, but the subsequent analysis is opinion. I could go on, but I would hope you have the point by now.

wow, riccardi is on the mlb network right now. i've never even seen a pic of him before...

the man is a goblin.

So can Brian Anderson.

Posted by: ChicagoMike | August 10, 2009 at 07:01 PM

LOL Brian Anderson is now a verb

no no retards...

next year

C Aj
1b Paul Konerko
2b Getz
SS Ramirez
3b Beckham
LF Carlos Quentin
CF Rios
RF Jered Mitchell
DH Dye

Pitching

Peavy
Beurhle
Floyd
Danks
Hopefully Ardolis Chapman sox already have 2 cubans (jose and alexi) with the same agent

no no retards...

next year

C Aj
1b Paul Konerko
2b Getz
SS Ramirez
3b Beckham
LF Carlos Quentin
CF Rios
RF Jered Mitchell
DH Dye

yeah? With whay money?

Fact: in this market, Rios is barely worth $30M let alone twice that. They just signed a player who was signed before the market crashed and wouldnt get half that deal had everything started over.

also this is the funniest thing ive read on here:

"realize we are in the year 2009, defense matters a lot. "

because defense never mattered before! lol

Also Rios has 61 career innings lodged in CF, thats about 7 total games. There goes your "his value lies in the fact he can play CF!!!!" argument.

Rios isnt a "5 tool stud" who will win an mvp like people are making him out to be. He's basically just Wily Mo Pena had he realized his career, at best he's going to be a slightly above league average hitter who's a threat to steal some bases and has the ability to be a good defender sometimes. As of right now, he's godawful at everything and his general hitting lines have been declining greatly. The Jays arent losing much in replacing him with Snider, at all.