Nathaniel Whalen of the Daily Southtown speculates on a possible 2008 White Sox roster. His scenario sends Jon Garland and Brian Anderson to San Diego for Khalil Greene, Heath Bell, and a pitching prospect. Not sure who the Padres would use at shortstop, then.
Whalen’s scenario also has the White Sox signing Aaron Rowand. Most folks around Chicago expect Kenny Williams to make a run at him, especially if it’s for Eric Byrnes bucks. But that leaves Ryan Sweeney and Jerry Owens as the corner outfielders. Neither fits the profile of a corner outfielder, and I’m not sure the Sox can sacrifice the offense as Thome, Konerko, and Pierzynski all get a year older. Whalen’s picture also includes Darin Erstad on the roster, which could quickly lead to Erstad as a regular again. Yikes.
Baseball Prospectus’s Nate Silver also came up with a plan for the ’08 Sox back on June 14th. His lineup involves free agent signings of Luis Castillo and Kosuke Fukudome, with Ryan Sweeney handling center and Josh Fields in left. He proposed the Sox swap Mark Buehrle for shorstop Brent Lillibridge of the Braves, but that was prior to Buehrle’s extension. He also thought Kenny Williams could swap Jermaine Dye for someone as useful as Chad Billingsley, which was wishful thinking even in June.
What do you think? Williams could go in many different directions, but one way or another he needs to come up with a shortstop and at least one decent veteran outfielder.
