Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that it’s become "increasingly likely" that Joe Crede will get the Opening Day nod at third base for the White Sox, with Josh Fields heading to Triple A. It’s an unfortunate situation for the 25 year-old Fields, who doesn’t have much left to learn in the minors. Gonzales adds that trade talks with the Giants have "all but ceased," and the Dodgers don’t seem all that interested either.
Crede is trying to shake off the rust (his last regular season game was June 4th of last year) and prove he’s an above average third baseman worthy of his $5.1MM salary. It seems that Crede’s audition will extend into April or May. If he plays decently and a few teams suffer injuries or ineffectiveness at the hot corner, maybe Kenny Williams will get the return he wants. Who knows – if Crede has a hot start, maybe the White Sox will decide to let him play out the season and have Fields work on his defense at Charlotte. Or, Ozzie Guillen could pursue an interesting strategy posed by Sox Machine, where Crede is a defensive replacement.
