White Sox Rumors

Quick Hits: Votto, Garcia, Francis, Contracts

By Mark Polishuk | January 14, 2011 at 11:21pm CDT

Some news items to take us into the weekend….

John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer hears from some player agents that Joey Votto will submit an arbitration number between $8.5-$9.5MM, while the Reds' counter-offer will be around $7MM. Back in August, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith suggested that Votto would ask for $7MM, but since then Votto has added a playoff appearance and the NL MVP Award to his resume. Of course, arbitration talk could be moot if Votto and the Reds agree to an extension.
The White Sox don't have room in the rotation to bring back Freddy Garcia, says MLB.com's Scott Merkin as part of a reader mailbag.
The Royals' agreement with Jeff Francis is "the best deal of the winter in free agency," according to Dave Cameron of Fangraphs.
ESPN's Jayson Stark examines at the high number of expensive and/or long-term contracts signed this winter.
Lance Berkman talks to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about his offseason training regiment and how much pressure he's putting on himself to perform for the Cardinals. "If I have a repeat of last year I'm probably out of the game," Berkman says.
The top ten most favorable trades in Reds history are counted down by the Cincinnati Enquirer's Nick Hurm. Recent deals for Brandon Phillips and Bronson Arroyo are included, but it's hard to top the Cincinnati/Houston trade that installed Joe Morgan into the Big Red Machine.

White Sox Agree To Sign Will Ohman

By Mike Axisa | January 10, 2011 at 4:30pm CDT

The White Sox and Will Ohman have agreed to a two-year contract, the team announced. The deal is worth $4MM total, reports SI.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter links). Ohman is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

The 33-year-old Ohman spent most of the 2010 season with Baltimore before being traded to the Marlins. The lefty reliever held same-side batters to a .229/.323/.313 last year, but .208/.298/.348 over his entire career. He's strictly a lefty specialist, because righties have tagged him for a .264/.360/.400 batting line in his career. Ohman has a 4.09 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in a big league career that began back in 2000.

Ohman, who earned $1.35MM in 2010, joins Pedro Feliciano, Randy Choate, Scott Downs, and Hisanori Takahashi as lefty relievers who received multiyear deals this offseason. Chicago has already added Jesse Crain to their bullpen this offseason, and the addition of Ohman gives Ozzie Guillen a lefty for the middle innings. Matt Thornton will of course handle late game situations.

We heard that the ChiSox were favored to sign him on Friday, after we learned that three AL teams were the finalists for his services.

White Sox Sign Kinney, Lindsay

By Steve Adams | January 9, 2011 at 3:09pm CDT

The White Sox have signed Josh Kinney and Shane Lindsay to minor league deals, according to Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com. Both are expected to receive non-roster invitations to Spring Training.

Kinney will be 32 on Opening Day and has seen Major League time with the Cardinals over parts of three seasons, most recently in 2009. He owns a career 4.56 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, and 3.8 BB/9 over 47 2/3 innings. His minor league numbers are more impressive: a 2.78 ERA over 514 1/3 innings with a strong 8.6 K/9. His 2010 was particularly impressive, as he posted a 1.80 ERA and 0.93 WHIP through 60 innings of work, striking out 7.6 per nine along the way.

Lindsay, 25, has never reached the Majors, likely due to his big-time control issues (career 6.6 BB/9). The Australia native makes up for that to some extent with his career 12.4 K/9. Lindsay began 2010 with the Rockies but was claimed off waivers by the Yankees and then the Indians early in the season. He struggled to the tune of a 5.80 ERA last year, but Baseball America has praised his mid-90s fastball and knuckle curve. He'll turn 26 in a couple of weeks, so he still has time to put it together.

Quick Hits: Darvish, Balfour, Torre, Sale

By Luke Adams 2 | January 9, 2011 at 12:23pm CDT

Links for Sunday….

Yu Darvish officially renewed his contract with the Nippon Ham Fighters this week, as NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman writes. Darvish, who may play in MLB in 2012, will earn the equivalent of about $6MM this season in Japan.
One AL scout tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that Grant Balfour remains unsigned in part due to a dip in velocity over the last year, but adds: "He’s developed good command of his secondary pitches. He can pitch in the AL East, he’s a competitor, and if you use him as a complementary piece, he’s worth pursuing for your bullpen." I looked at some possible fits for Balfour last weekend.
We heard yesterday that Joe Torre was talking to Bud Selig about potentially becoming MLB's next executive vice president of operations. However, Ken Davidoff of Newsday doesn't expect Torre to take such a position, and says "other people in the loop" don't either.
Jim Margalus of South Side Sox examines how Chris Sale's role with the White Sox will be affected by Will Ohman's arrival.

Danks, Quentin Declined Extensions Last Winter

By Mark Polishuk | January 7, 2011 at 11:17pm CDT

John Danks and Carlos Quentin both turned down four-year contract offers from the White Sox last offseason, reports Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com. Both players were entering their first arbitration year and rather than take the long-term contracts, each agreed to a one-year pact (Danks for $3.45MM, Quentin for $3.2MM).

As it turned out, Danks and Quentin illustrated both sides of what can happen when a young player takes a risk and passes up a long-term guarantee. Danks turned down a four-year, $15MM offer, and thus essentially made a $11.55MM bet on himself heading into the 2010 season. The risk paid off — after a strong performance (3.72 ERA, 2.31 K/BB ratio, 213 IP), Danks has put himself in line for a much larger contract. We heard in November that the Sox were again looking to extend Danks, and such an extension will pay the southpaw a lot more than $11.55MM over the next three seasons.

For Quentin, however, 2010 was a struggle. We don't know how much his four-year offer was worth, and it's possible he was justified in rejecting it if Chicago made a lowball offer to try and capitalize on Quentin's down numbers in 2009. Still, Quentin's .821 OPS last season was far removed from his MVP-caliber season in 2008, he struggled badly in the field and his name has come up in trade rumors since the summer.

"The White Sox still don’t seem convinced that Quentin can stay injury- or stress-free over a full season," Padilla writes. He wonders if the Sox might again try to make a long-term offer to Quentin (at an even lower price) to keep him under control if he breaks out for another big season that would drive up his arbitration price next winter and his eventual free agent price after the 2012 season.

White Sox Favored To Sign Will Ohman, Are “Close”

By Mark Polishuk | January 7, 2011 at 5:25pm CDT

The White Sox are the favorites to sign left-hander Will Ohman, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Ohman hasn't yet made a decision, but is "close." Ohman had drawn some interest from the Orioles (among other clubs) this winter, but Connolly reports that the O's are not one of the three AL finalists for Ohman's services.

White Sox Not Likely To Pursue Rafael Soriano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 7, 2011 at 2:02pm CDT

The White Sox aren't likely to sign Rafael Soriano unless his price drops "way, way down," according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The White Sox were reportedly eyeing the reliever early in the month, but like other teams, they moved on.

Soriano, the top reliever and arguably the top free agent on the open market, will cost more than money. Since the Type A free agent turned down the Rays' offer of arbitration, the team that signs Soriano will lose a top pick.

That possibility scared the Yankees away, even though Soriano would have considered a setup role behind Mariano Rivera. The AL Champion Rangers signed Adrian Beltre, but they are not pursuing Soriano, another Scott Boras client. The Cardinals don't appear to have much interest in the closer either.

As MLBTR's Mark Polishuk explains, the Angels are a possibility for Soriano. In a separate piece, Morosi argues that finding a substantial contract for the right-hander could be Boras' biggest coup of the 2010-11 offseason.

White Sox Eyeing Soriano, Done Spending?

By Luke Adams 2 | January 1, 2011 at 8:04pm CDT

While "there seems to be interest" in bringing Rafael Soriano to Chicago, the White Sox may not have enough cash left to seriously pursue the right-hander, reports SI.com's Jon Heyman (via Twitter).

The White Sox have made well over $100MM in contract commitments so far this offseason, re-signing Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski, as well as bringing in Adam Dunn and Jesse Crain. As a result, they have "little if any" spending money at the moment, according to Heyman.

Soriano appears poised to land a multiyear deal that exceeds, if not Mariano Rivera's $30MM agreement with the Yankees, at least Joaquin Benoit's $16.5MM pact with the Tigers. As Heyman points out (on Twitter), signing Soriano would be a great way for Chicago to replace the non-tendered Bobby Jenks, but the Sox will have to find some money before they can be considered a legit suitor for the market's top closer.

MLBTR's Dan Mennella examined Soriano's market on Thursday, while earlier in December, we asked MLBTR's readers where you thought Soriano would sign. Nearly 13% of over 13,000 respondents picked the White Sox.

Heyman On Floyd, Gregg, Soriano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 30, 2010 at 8:58am CDT

The Brewers, Red Sox and Phillies are the three biggest winners of the offseason so far for Jon Heyman of SI.com. Heyman provides some rumors, but not before including the Nationals and Pirates on his list of offseason winners. Here are the details:

The White Sox "flirted with the idea" of trading Gavin Floyd, but decided to keep their rotation together until Jake Peavy returns. The Rockies inquired on Floyd earlier in the offseason.
Kevin Gregg is talking to clubs other than the Orioles. Two weeks ago, Gregg's agent told the Baltimore Sun that "a few teams" were still involved and those clubs still appear to be in the mix for the former Blue Jays closer.
The Yankees checked in on Rafael Soriano, according to Heyman. Joel Sherman of the New York Post and ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggested earlier in the month that the Yankees' interest in Soriano was cautious at best.

Unfinished Business: AL Central

By Tim Dierkes | December 29, 2010 at 11:25am CDT

We've covered the unfinished business for teams in the NL East, Central, and West as well as the AL West. Now it's time to tackle the AL Central.

White Sox: Swingman or reliever. A week ago, MLB.com's Scott Merkin opined that Chicago's biggest remaining need was a fourth or fifth starter type who could move to the bullpen when Jake Peavy returns. Or, the Sox could add another reliever and put Chris Sale in the rotation to start the season. GM Kenny Williams could theoretically clear some payroll space by moving Mark Teahen. Another remaining offseason goal could be to lock up John Danks, who is entering his second arbitration year.
Indians: Veteran starting pitcher, third baseman, utility infielder, Shin-Soo Choo extension. A Choo extension is unlikely, but MLB.com's Jordan Bastian suggests the Tribe will attempt to find bargains for the other needs. Here's a look at the unsigned third base candidates. Bartolo Colon is the type of pitcher on the radar to compete for a fifth starter job.
Tigers: Starting pitcher, lefty reliever. MLB.com's Kelly Thesier suggested a couple weeks ago that the Tigers could add a fifth starter/swingman type as well as a lefty reliever later in the offseason. On a later conference call, GM Dave Dombrowski said he's comfortable with the team's pitching staff but remains open-minded. They were linked to Brad Penny that same day.
Royals: Starting pitcher, reliever. The Royals' 2011 rotation is looking barren at this point, and their bullpen is light too. The additions of Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera imply that Dayton Moore likes a little veteran presence on his team, so I expect him to add some stopgaps to augment the pitching staff. Things have been quiet on the rumor front since the Zack Greinke trade, however.
Twins: Starting pitcher, reliever(s), backup infielder, Jim Thome situation, Francisco Liriano extension. The Twins will have to figure out a Plan B if they fail to re-sign Carl Pavano. They lost Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, and likely others from the bullpen, so some kind of veteran addition seems likely. We haven't read much on the Twins' desire to re-sign Thome since this December 7th report. The Liriano idea is pure speculation on my part, but perhaps discussions will occur.

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