White Sox Rumors

Odds And Ends: White Sox, Smoltz, Lowrie

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 11, 2009 at 10:32am CDT

A few links for Thursday morning…

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times speculates that Jermaine Dye, Octavio Dotel and even Bobby Jenks could be traded before July 31st.
Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe reports that John Smoltz could debut for the Red Sox as soon as Tuesday.
Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald reports that Smoltz's teammate, Jed Lowrie, could return from his wrist injury by the end of June.
Smoltz's return will lead to more Brad Penny rumors, while Lowrie's return will ease concerns about the Red Sox shortstop situation.
Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus revises his initial take on shortstop Jean Carlos Batista, describing him as "five-tool talent." The Dodgers, Rangers, A's, Indians and Yankees are among the suitors for the Dominican prospect.

Discussion: Are White Sox Buyers or Sellers?

By Eddie Schmid | June 10, 2009 at 7:39pm CDT

The Chicago Tribune's Mark Gonzales got a hold of White Sox GM Kenny Williams to discuss the team's recent woes, losing seven of nine and sitting five and half games out of first place. When asked if he'd break up the team if the losing streak continued, it appeared he'd be taking a "wait-and-see approach":

"Hard decisions always have to be made. But very clearly, we are in a transitional phase, and if this team shows me at some point they don't pick it up at some point (sic), yeah, I'm going to have do some things that maybe aren't going to be the most popular but in the best interests of the club."

He says such decisions are "a little ways away." But with Ozzie Guillen's prediction that Carlos Quentin won't be back until past the All-Star Break, the 27-32 Sox could make moves sooner rather than later.

The Sox still have a few stagnant performers who could be primed for breakout–Alexei Ramirez comes to mind–but if you were GM, would you act as a buyer or seller? As a buyer, what deals would make sense to help them contend? As a seller, who would be the first pieces to go?

Problem Positions For Contenders

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 9, 2009 at 3:53pm CDT

SI.com's Tom Verducci applauds Braves GM Frank Wren for making a deal early in the summer and suggests early deals for five other teams with obvious needs. Verducci doesn't suggest deals like these will happen, but he offers them up as possible fits:

The Twins could improve at second base. What about Freddy Sanchez, Clint Barmes or Jamey Carroll?
The Giants aren't getting much production from Travis Ishikawa at the plate, though the plus/minus system ranks him as the best defensive first baseman in the league. Verducci wonders if the Giants would use Jonathan Sanchez to acquire a player such as Jorge Cantu, Nick Johnson, Miguel Tejada or Garrett Atkins.
The Mets would look much better with Brad Hawpe, Matt Holliday or even Mark DeRosa roaming the outfield.
Ryan Spilborghs could help the White Sox in the outfield, as one reader suggested in today's chat.
The Reds could use help in the outfield and at third base. Mark DeRosa can only play one position at a time, but he could be a useful addition for Cincinnati.

Would these suggestions work? Many of the players Verducci lists aren't on the block yet, but what if they were available?

White Sox Sign Freddy Garcia

By Eddie Schmid | June 8, 2009 at 6:04pm CDT

According to Buster Olney at ESPN, the White Sox have agreed to a minor-league deal with right-hander Freddy Garcia. He passed a physical and now will report to the Sox training facility in Arizona.

Garcia, who turns 33 on Wednesday, was released by the Mets April 28th after putting up an 8.18 ERA in 11 innings at Triple-A Buffalo. He hinted at retirement around that time due to persistent troubles with his shoulder. Garcia pitched for the Sox during their World Series run in 2005 and into 2007.

As reported by Mark Gonzales at the Chicago Tribune, this comes on the heels of a vintage Ozzie Guillen outburst after the Sox dropped a game to the Tigers today, their sixth loss in seven games. Guillen said changes would be coming "Pretty soon."

Odds And Ends: Hamilton, Vizquel, Draft

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 8, 2009 at 5:04pm CDT

Why not rattle off a few more links to wrap up this Monday afternoon…

As MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports, Josh Hamilton will miss 4-6 weeks to repair a partially torn abdominal muscle.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes the Rangers are for real.
He says Jon Daniels is not looking to trade Omar Vizquel.
ESPN.com's Keith Law believes Stephen Strasburg will sign this year. He could be in line for a September debut, perhaps as a reliever.
Law's high on Tyler Matzek, a polished high schooler who should go early in the first round.
As Baseball America's J.J. Cooper reports, Tanner Scheppers boosted his draft stock by pitching in the upper 90s in his final start for the St. Paul Saints.
Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post says the Marlins could go after pitching with their first round pick, especially since the draft is pitching-heavy early on.
MLB.com's Corey Brock says the Padres will take Dustin Ackley if the Mariners don't.
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says Josh Fields found his recent demotion "hard to swallow."

Price’s Latest: Draft, Red Sox, Astros, Giants

By Nat Boyle | June 7, 2009 at 11:02am CDT

Ed Price of MLB FanHouse has a new article up, with notes on the draft and around the Majors.

Price writes, "'The bottom line is there is a consensus,' said an industry source who monitors the draft closely, 'and that consensus is: There's no consensus after [Stephen] Strasburg.' The source said he has counted 63 players who could be taken in the 32 choices of the first round."
Price also gives us an industry insiders "educated guess on the top five: Strasburg to Washington, [North Carolina's Dustin] Ackley to Seattle, Vanderbilt lefty Mike Minor to San Diego, former Missouri right-hander Aaron Crow to Pittsburgh and Georgia high-school right-hander Zack Wheeler to Baltimore."
Due to free-agent compensation picks and "the rule that gives a team that fails to sign a high choice a corresponding pick the next year", the White Sox have 3 of the first 61 picks. Arizona has 7 of the first 64. Colorado has 3 of the first 34. The Angels have 5 of the first 48.
The Mets first pick is 72nd overall. The Phillies first is 75th.
The first three rounds of the draft are this Tuesday, with the first round on MLB Network.
The Astros are not in "dump mode," says Price. Quoting a person familiar with Drayton McLane, "'His track record is when everybody says you should dismantle [he doesn't]," the person said. 'He's been so lucky.'"
With Jed Lowrie returning and the ballclub winning, the Red Sox are not looking to add a bat and instead can wait to see if David Ortiz improves.
The Giants want a bat, but they won't give up premium young pitching.

Discussion: Josh Fields’ Future

By Eddie Schmid | June 6, 2009 at 7:23pm CDT

As recently reported by Mark Gonzales at the Chicago Tribune, with the recent slotting of top prospect Gordon Beckham at third, White Sox GM Kenny Williams admits that Josh Fields' future with the team is "undefined":

"I see it here in Chicago and certainly, this isn't an indication we're giving up on Josh, but you guys understand we're all about winning here."

Williams goes on to say there's a place for Fields "right now," though, as Gonzales notes, the surplus of Pale Hose infielders offers an opportunity to swing a deal and patch some holes. Fields has seen his share of ups and downs for the Sox–he was seen to be the future at third after he jacked 23 homers in 373 at-bats in 2007, but he hasn't flashed that potential since. He's posted a meager .626 OPS in 176 at-bats this year.

Do you see Fields staying with the Sox? Or would he make sense for a team starved for depth at the corners like, say, the Mets? Could he command any useful parts for Kenny Williams, or would he be selling too low?

Odds And Ends: Oswalt, Pirates, Glavine

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 4, 2009 at 2:23pm CDT

More links for Thursday afternoon as we wait for Randy Johnson to take his first crack at the 300-win plateau …

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports that Roy Oswalt doesn't expect to stick around long enough to win 300 games. Instead, he says he'll stop playing once he stops producing.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirms the Pirates will shop Jack Wilson, Adam LaRoche and John Grabow.
Keith Olbermann wonders if the Pirates improved in center field by callling up Andrew McCutchen. Three hits an RBI and a steal made for a nice MLB debut.
Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune wonders why the White Sox didn't trade for Nate McLouth.
Jen Langosch of MLB.com reports that the Pirates say the McLouth deal wasn't financially motivated.
David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Tom Glavine's velocity has dipped noticeably, but laments the rough ending to the future Hall of Famer's Atlanta career.
Remember to follow MLBTR on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook to join in and discuss phenom Bryce Harper.

Draft Updates: Jays, Twins, White Sox

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 4, 2009 at 11:30am CDT

Let's take a look at what the Jays, Twins and White Sox are saying about the draft:

MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says James Paxton is an "intriguing possibility" for the Jays with their 20th pick, but says his agent, Scott Boras, probably takes the Jays "out of the mix." Drew Storen and Chad Jenkins could be options for Toronto, which has five of the first 104 picks.
As MLB.com's Kelly Thesier reports, the Twins are expected to draft a young arm with the 22nd pick in the draft.
The White Sox, who follow the Twins at 23rd overall, have five of the first 102 picks. Last year's first round pick, Gordon Beckham, is about to debut for the Sox. This time around MLB.com's Scott Merkin suggests we shouldn't be surprised if they go for a "leadoff-type athletic outfielder."

MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo has all three teams taking high schoolers in his latest mock draft. He has outfielder Everett Williams going to the Jays, pitcher Matt Hobgood going to the Twins and outfielder Michael Trout going to the White Sox.

White Sox to DFA Betemit, Promote Beckham

By Mike Axisa | June 3, 2009 at 10:08pm CDT

According to a tweet by MLB.com's Noah Coslov, the White Sox will designate infielder Wilson Betemit for assignment before Thursday's game and call up top prospect Gordon Beckham. Beckham was the eighth overall pick in the 2008 Draft, and hit .318/.372/.512 in 184 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A this year. He has played mostly shortstop this year, but has seen time at third base recently. Betemit hit just .200/.280/.310 in 50 plate appearances this season after being acquired in exchange for Nick Swisher over the winter.

Mike Axisa writes for River Ave. Blues.

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