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Nick Swisher Traded To White Sox

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Baseball Digest Daily is reporting that the A’s have traded Nick Swisher to the White Sox for Gio Gonzalez, Fautino De Los Santos, and Ryan Sweeney.  I’d heard about the Sweeney part but hadn’t been able to confirm it.  This is a fascinating trade – let’s discuss.

I have to imagine the White Sox plan to use Swisher as their center fielder for the next couple of years; he did play 59 games there in ’07.  Kenny Williams stuck to his word about adding OBP to his team, picking up Swisher and Carlos Quentin to fill out his outfield.  Swisher, 27, is signed at a very reasonable price: $3.5MM in ’08, $5.3MM in ’09, $6.75MM in ’10, $9MM in ’11, and a $10.25MM club option for ’12 with a $1MM buyout.  The option gets a $1.75MM bump if Swisher is top five for the MVP voting during the contract.  He has limited no-trade protection for 2011-12.

The White Sox paid a massive price to get their man, however.  Pitchers De Los Santos and Gonzalez were their two best prospects, according to Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein.  De Los Santos is said to have a huge ceiling, whereas Gio is a solid lefty who’s nearly big-league ready.  Goldstein ranked Sweeney eighth on the team, but projects him as more of a fourth-outfielder type (he was once very highly regarded though).

If it wasn’t obvious with the Dan Haren trade, the A’s are in full-fledged rebuilding mode.  Joe Blanton, Huston Street, and Mark Ellis could be next to go.

Mailbag: Nioka, Crede, Snell

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Let’s dig through the ol’ mailbag once again.  Feel free to shoot an email to mlbtraderumors@gmail.com.

Do you have any news regarding Japanese shortstop Tomohiro Nioka? Is he a free agent and are any teams pursuing him? – Bob

It seems that Nioka turned out to be ineligible for free agency.  We’ll have to keep an eye out for him next year.

What’s up with Joe Crede? Will the ChiSox be looking to deal him this summer if they are struggling? And if so, you have to believe the Phillies would be top contenders for him. – Dan

I’m almost certain Crede will be dealt, I’m just not sure when.  Maybe after a week or two of proving his health in Spring Training?  Josh Fields needs his reps at third base, so I’d be surprised if the Sox started the season with Crede at the hot corner.  The Phillies seem like the perfect fit, especially since Kenny Williams and Pat Gillick have gotten together for many deals.

Have you heard anything about a package of Snell and Bay from Pittsburgh to the M’s for some prospects? – Aaron

Jake at Bucco Blog heard this rumor just a few days ago.  Both of them going to Seattle would represent a whole lot of talent.  Seems that it would require Adam Jones and then some.  Might make more sense for the Mariners to target just Snell, since they’re in fine shape in the outfield.

Mailbag: Lopez, Colon, Cano

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Let’s dig into the MLBTR mailbag once again.  You could ask a question by emailing mlbtraderumors@gmail.com.

What moves would you like to see the Rockies make to improve their starting rotation? – Sean

The Rockies seem to have decent rotation depth – Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Jason Hirsh, Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklin Morales, Taylor Buchholz, even Kip Wells and Mark Redman.  I would like to see Dan O’Dowd toss an injury-recovering free agent into the mix.  The one I like is Rodrigo Lopez.  He was quietly very solid for a half-season in Colorado this year.  He had surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his elbow in August but there’s no timetable quite yet.  Adding a wrinkle is that Scott Boras represents him.

Why don’t the White Sox go after Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon or something like that? – Tim

Two clubs that have seen Colon’s medical reports and/or price tag have already backed off (Astros, Rangers).  The Cardinals, Nationals, and Mets may have lingering interest, but we don’t have great information here.  How healthy is he?  Would he take a one-year deal?  On December 4th, Bill Ladson suggested he was not open to one year.  Anyway, I like the idea of Colon returning to the White Sox in theory, and they’ve got the money and need, but it’s hard for an outsider to say whether this is a good investment.

I read a piece last night that noted the Yankees have pulled Robinson Cano from winter ball. Do you think there is a chance that the Yanks are holding him up while he is doing well (Cano was hitting .389 in 9 games) and considering a revised offer that would include him in a Santana deal? – Steve

While there is a chance, this doesn’t seem likely to me.  I’ve always read that Phil Hughes was the one Yankee the Twins had to have in a Santana deal, and including Cano would probably mean he’s out.  Plus Cano has two years of service time, so he’s more expensive than Hughes. 

White Sox Not Interested In Prior

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On December 19th, ESPN’s Jayson Stark named the White Sox as one of eleven teams interested in free agent starter Mark Prior.  However, White Sox GM Kenny Williams was asked whether he had interest in Prior yesterday and replied in the negative (hat tip to South Side Sox).  So, no Prior jerseys on the south side.

The current scoreboard on Prior: the Red Sox, Mets, Cardinals, Padres, Astros, Giants, Reds, Nationals, Marlins, and Indians are in.  The Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, Phillies, and Pirates are out.  Buster Olney recently said that Prior could make his decision by this evening and named San Diego as the frontrunner.

White Sox Sign Alexei Ramirez

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UPDATE, 12-22-07 at 6:00pm: Ramirez can earn another $3.25MM in incentives.

UPDATE, 12-21-07 at 10:57pm: Ramirez gets a mere $4.75MM over the four-year pact.  That’s an excellent move right there, in my opinion.  Dirt cheap – low risk, decent reward.

FROM 12-21-07 at 5:35pm:

The White Sox made an interesting move today, signing Cuban defector Alexei Ramirez to a four-year contract.  The presence of Jose Contreras should be helpful for him.  Ramirez probably profiles as Chicago’s center fielder, though he could also play second base.  Here’s what Baseball America had to say about him a few months ago.

It’s tough to judge this signing until we hear the money involved.  He was apparently highly sought after, as ESPN says he worked out for the Red Sox, Indians, Reds, Cubs, Mets, Yankees, Twins, and A’s too.  Ramirez is apparently 26 years old.  I think he’s going to need some time in the minors, as Clay Davenport has equated Cuban baseball with our short season A ball.

As a means of comparison, Yuniesky Betancourt signed for four years and $2.826MM in January of 2005.  Kendry Morales signed a four-year deal worth around $10MM in December of 2004.

Odds and Ends: Santana, Cabrera, Kapler

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A few good reads that I didn’t know how to fit elsewhere.

The Mark Prior Derby

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Let’s do a recap on the Mark Prior Derby, which is getting more confusing each day.  Jerry Crasnick has added some good info this afternoon.  Prior wants a one-year deal and hopes to be on a big league mound before the end of May.

  • Yankees – They’ll probably pass, per Hank Steinbrenner.
  • Red Sox – Named only by Jayson Stark.
  • White Sox – Named only by Stark.
  • Mariners – Named by Stark, denied by Jim Street.
  • Mets – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Ken Rosenthal, Ed Price
  • Cardinals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Rosenthal, Matthew Leach
  • Padres – Named by many, made an offer according to Crasnick. Prior went to USC but would have to take less money to play in San Diego
  • Astros – Named by many, made an offer according to Alyson Footer
  • Giants – Named only by Stark
  • Reds – Named by Stark, Crasnick. Prior previously played under Dusty Baker
  • Nationals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Bill Ladson
  • Rangers – Named by Crasnick but not Stark, aggressively pursuing according to Rosenthal
  • Marlins – Named only by Crasnick
  • Indians – Named only by Crasnick

One more and we’re at half of all baseball teams linked at some point.  The Phillies and Pirates are not interested, and it’s probably safe to count the Cubs out.

Stark’s Latest: Prior, Lofton, Otsuka

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark dishes some good rumorage in his latest column.

  • Stark dug around to find all the Mark Prior suitors and came up with this list: Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, Mets, Cardinals, Padres, Astros, Giants, Reds, Nationals (11 teams).  Let’s compare notes.  MLBTR readers have seen the Yankees, Mets, Cards, Padres, Astros, Reds, and Nats linked to Prior already.  So Stark has added the Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, and Giants.  The idea of the Mariners runs contrary to this MLB.com article.  Stark did not name the Rangers, who are said to be aggressively pursuing Prior.  Prior is dead set on a one-year deal and would take a big league mound in May in the best case.
  • The Phils are focused on Geoff Jenkins and Mike Cameron, offering two year deals to each.  They might just take the first one to accept.  Stark says Kenny Lofton could be an option if both decline.  Lofton batted a career-best .335 for the Phils in ’05.
  • Stark rattles off a laundry list of pitchers the Phillies are interested in: Akinori Otsuka, Byung-Hyun Kim, Roberto Hernandez, Kris Benson, John Parrish, Sidney Ponson, Chad Durbin, Kyle Lohse, and Jeremy Affeldt.  Given Stark’s 21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I imagine he has a connection or two.  Most of those are new names besides Benson, Lohse, Ponson, and Affeldt.
  • A source of Stark picks the Yankees as the favorite for Johan, but it should be noted that they’re having internal debates about pulling Phil Hughes off the table.
  • For all the crazy Cubs fans we’ve got here: Stark says they’ve talked to the Orioles about both Brian Roberts and Erik Bedard, but couldn’t pull off a deal for both.  They favor Roberts even though they need Bedard much more.

Crisp/Lugo For Cabrera Speculation

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Been getting this Phil Rogers blog post emailed to me quite a bit lately.  In it he speculates that the White Sox could send Orlando Cabrera to the Red Sox for Julio Lugo and Coco Crisp.  Or, they could send Cabrera to the Cubs for prospects.  Third, he suggests the Sox could sign Cabrera for around four years and $50MM, the offer they made to Kosuke Fukudome.

Nothing wrong with the speculation, Phil is just spitballing here it seems.  However, this talk gets passed around a couple of times, people don’t actually read what Phil wrote, and then people start saying this is a rumor or that there have been talks of this nature.  To me, speculation doesn’t graduate to a rumor until someone reports that it’s been discussed by execs of one or more teams.  Just my two cents on why this is not a trade rumor.  But, feel free to discuss.   

Giants Pursuing Corner Infield Help

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I’m not sure of the Giants’ plan – are they rebuilding?  Playing for 2008?  Kind of rebuilding but trying to seem respectable?

At any rate, the Giants don’t have much going on at first and third base.  I like the idea of going after a cheap under-30 third base upside play like Dallas McPherson.  But I wouldn’t fill the spot with a vet just to fill it.  As for first, I’ve said before I’d just toss Dan Ortmeier there for 550 ABs in lieu of adding some stopgap.  But that’s just me; here’s the latest on Brian Sabean’s corner infield pursuits:

  • Tony Clark is a target, and San Francisco is a good fit for him in terms of playing time.  He’d probably get a one-year deal and be paired with Ortmeier.
  • The Mariners are apparently shopping Adrian Beltre for pitching.  Doesn’t seem to be a smart move for Seattle but it may be a moot point if they are nearing a Carlos Silva signing.
  • No doubt Joe Crede can be had.  Paul Konerko, not so much.  Crede makes sense for the Giants in that they might be able to flip him if he has a good April-May.
  • Morgan Ensberg is a free agent who would probably play for $3MM and jump at a full-time chance.
  • Pedro Feliz remains on the radar, but apparently still wants three years.  C’mon now.
  • The Giants have "moved in opposing directions" with McPherson, a Scott Boras client.

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