Latest On John Danks

A week ago, Jon Heyman reported that the Yankees were unwilling to trade Manny Banuelos or Jesus Montero for White Sox lefty John Danks.  The newly-minted CBS Sports scribe now tweets that the White Sox asked for two of Montero, Banuelos, or Dellin Betances, and the Yankees might give up one in a package.

It's easy to see why the Yankees have resisted so far, as Danks is only under team control for one year.  He'll certainly be motivated with free agency on the horizon, and he would be just 27 years old on the open market.  If Danks can put up 32 starts with a sub-4.00 ERA, as was his custom prior to 2011, I think he'll be able to top four years and $50MM.  Edwin Jackson's upcoming contract may set the bar.

One executive told ESPN's Buster Olney during the Winter Meetings that the White Sox sought a "Ubaldo Jimenez" package for Danks, which would be hard to defend since Jimenez came with two-plus years of cost certainty.  In addition to the Yankees, AL East rivals such as the Blue Jays and Red Sox appear to have checked in.