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Needs and Luxuries: Chicago White Sox

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Next up in the Needs and Luxuries series, the White Sox.

C – A.J. Pierzynski
1B – Paul Konerko
2B – Danny Richar/Juan Uribe
SS – Orlando Cabrera
3B – Joe Crede/Josh Fields
LF – Carlos Quentin
CF –
RF – Jermaine Dye
DH – Jim Thome

SP – Javier Vazquez
SP – Mark Buehrle
SP – Jose Contreras
SP – John Danks
SP – Gavin Floyd

Setup: Scott Linebrink
Closer: Bobby Jenks

Needs

The Sox had the worst OBP in the AL at .318.  Everyone knows they need a good strong dose of on-base percentage.  Their .404 team SLG ranked 12th of 14, so some added pop is needed as well.  The pop may come from more Fields and less Erstad/Podsednik.

Center field is pretty much the only position at which the Sox aren’t committed.  I suppose they could upgrade second base too.  So let’s see…center fielder who can get on base…that rules out Juan Pierre and Coco Crisp straight off.  Honestly the Sox have backed themselves into a corner by not having OBP at catcher, second base, shortstop, third base, or right field.  I will say that I loved the acquisition of Carlos Quentin.  And Thome is an OBP monster.  Anyway I recommend signing Kenny Lofton or trading for David DeJesus.

I know Kenny Williams and Dayton Moore get along well, though the price for DeJesus will probably be the shred of starting pitching left in Chicago’s farm system.  So how ’bout Lofton, who played for the Sox back in ’02?  But here’s the kicker of my plan: pair him with Ryan Freel.  Freel couldn’t touch lefties last year but the two previous years he had OBPs over .400 against them.

Stay with me here…taking Lofton’s ’07 vs. righties and Freel’s ’06 vs. lefties and creating one hybrid Frofton Monster, you get a .311/.394/.444 hitter.  Even better, Freel can help out at second base when righties are on the hill.  And Sox fans will love his style!  He can’t be that hard to pry away/buy low from the Reds, can he?  I admit this idea didn’t give much consideration to CF defense, but hey, I’m just spitballing here.

Every team needs starting pitching, but I feel the White Sox are right to just go with what they’ve got here and hope for the best.  Gio Gonzalez is a decent prospect who might be able to help by summertime if Danks, Floyd, or Contreras really craps out.  If two of them crap out, Kenny Williams has to make a deal.  As for the bullpen, I wouldn’t throw more money at that even if it’s not perfect.

Luxuries

Joe Crede, who should cost $5MM or so in the last year of team control, is the team’s main luxury.  Strong defense, good pop, weak OBP, weak third base market.  Still, his trade value isn’t huge right now coming off back surgery.  One nice fit could be the Halos, who have extra outfielders.  Crede isn’t a match for Reggie Willits; the White Sox would have to kick in something really nice to pull that off.   The Giants could send Rajai Davis over, who could be a decent platoon partner for Lofton in center.  The Brewers could maybe flip a starting pitcher over.  The Phils don’t seem to match up with Chicago’s needs.

Relievers David Aardsma and Nick Masset are out options, so they might be thrown in to spice up a deal.  The Sox also have Brian Anderson and Ryan Sweeney, a couple of center fielders they may be ready to give up on.  Hopefully for Kenny Williams quantity means quality and he can throw together a bunch of these guys to get one player who can really help the ’08 team.

Phillies Interested In Cameron, Benson

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark wrote recently that the Phillies have expressed interest in center fielder Mike Cameron, now that the Padres are out of the mix.  Pat Gillick, who had Cameron back in Seattle, may have warmed to the idea of a two-year contract.  Back on December 6th Todd Zolecki said the Phils didn’t even want to go that far.  Stark says the White Sox and Rangers are other contenders for Cameron.

Also, both the Phillies and Padres remain on the trail of Geoff Jenkins, according to Zolecki.  His choices have been narrowed down to those two clubs since Friday.

The Phils will be among many teams watching Kris Benson throw tomorrow.  Benson is a popular bargain option; we’ve known that the Yankees, Cardinals, Royals, and Marlins may be watching on Monday as well.  Nick Cafardo says ten teams will observe Benson, adding the Rockies and Dodgers as new ones.  We’re still three short! 

The Phils also could give a minor-league deal to Sidney Ponson.  I’ll let you add your own punchline there. 

Phillies Interested In Otsuka?

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UPDATE, 12-14-07 at 10:09am: Ah, now the true story comes out on Otsuka.  MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers were going to send him to the White Sox for Chris Carter but the Sox nixed the deal after looking at Otsuka’s medical reports.  No surprise the Rangers non-tendered him, now.  Hat tip to Rangerfans.com.

FROM 12-14-07 at 8:47am:

Reliever Akinori Otsuka hit the free agent market on Wednesday; he turns 36 in January.  With a career ERA of 2.44 in 232 innings, it’s surprising the Rangers chose to non-tender him.  Otsuka earned $3MM in 2007, and even with a raise he’d have been a decent play on a one-year deal.

Unless, of course, the Rangers believes something is still wrong with Otsuka’s elbow.  I think that has to be the case, despite a trickle of positive reports recently.  The Phillies are the latest team to express interest in Otsuka.  Also, Tom Krasovic suggested a few days ago that the Padres might look to bring him back.

Back to the Phillies for a moment – Steve King notes that they have no interest in free agent Morgan Ensberg.  Also, they’re still planning to watch Kris Benson throw next week.

Levine On Fukudome

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Interesting stuff from ESPN 1000’s Bruce Levine this morning regarding Kosuke Fukudome.

  • The Rangers offered the most money.
  • The White Sox were not outbid – they offered about the same as the Cubs.  However, Fukudome did not want to displace Jermaine Dye from right field.
  • Fukudome was just intrigued by the Cubs, and liked the idea of being their first Japanese player.

Cubs Willing To Offer $50MM For Fukudome?

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UPDATE, 12-11-07 at 10:48am: Just talked to a good source on this stuff.  He told me Fukudome wants five years, despite what we’ve read.  The Cubs don’t expect he’ll sign for $50MM for five years, and are offering that amount over four.  They’re having an internal debate about stretching it to a five-year, $65MM offer.  Jim Hendry wants to stop at four years though.

FROM 12-11-07 at 10:03am:

Interesting piece of information from Tom Krasovic today – he says the Cubs are willing to offer close to $50MM for Kosuke Fukudome.  They really want this guy and have built their offseason plan around him.

It’s hard to believe the Cubs would offer that amount for three years; that would be $16.6MM annually to someone who’s never played in the Majors.  I could definitely see the Cubs putting out a four-year, $50MM offer though.  Who knows how much validity there is to the idea that Fukudome wants three years and only three years.

The Padres have gone at least three years and at least $10MM annually, but it could be more on both accounts.  Kevin Towers says the team’s offer was final.  He sees Fukudome landing in Chicago or San Diego.  That might mean he considers the White Sox to be in the mix as well.

Kosuke Fukudome Coming To MLB

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UPDATE, 12-11-07 at 8:27am: Official word comes from the man himself – he’ll try his hand in the Majors in 2008.

UPDATE, 12-10-07 at 10:04pm: Here’s the latest from the Sun-Times.  Urbon won’t hear from Fukudome until sometime later tonight.  He’ll contact MLB teams on Tuesday at the earliest with the news.  From that point, a deal might only take a day or two.

UPDATE, 12-10-07 at 2:30pm: This is getting annoying…Fukudome will decide whether to come to MLB tonight.  We all expect him to come, so it’s been a lot of back and forth for nothing.

UPDATE, 12-9-07 at 12:14am: He’s coming this time, for real.

UPDATE, 12-7-07 at 8:08pm: Just listened to Dave Kaplan talking to Fukudome’s agent, Joe Urbon, on Sports Central/WGN 720.  Urbon says Fukudome may decide whether to play in the U.S. on Monday.  The process would move "very quickly" soon after that for Fukudome to decide on a team.

UPDATE, 12-7-07 at 8:03pm: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times spoke to Fukudome’s agent.  He hasn’t decided yet.  He will make a choice Monday or Tuesday, and would let the interested Japanese teams know first.

FROM 12-7-07 at 2:40pm:

In case there was any question, Ken Rosenthal reports that Kosuke Fukudome will announce that he’s leaving Japan for an MLB team.

Rosenthal says it’s down to the Cubs, Padres, and what I like to call a Mystery Team.  The Rangers, Giants, and White Sox are candidates.  And although Rosenthal doesn’t mention them, the Royals could be in the mix.  Ken Davidoff reported on Wednesday that Fukudome had narrowed his choices to the Cubs and Royals (though it’s known that the Padres made a substantial offer). Note that Davidoff’s article came out after news of the Royals’ Jose Guillen signing broke.

White Sox Like Alex Rios

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What team wouldn’t like to have Alex Rios?  Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes the White Sox’ interest, but admits that the Sox don’t really have what the Jays would want in return.

Not that the White Sox can spare pitching at all, but Javier Vazquez would be quite valuable as a trade chip.  He earns a reasonable $34.5MM over the next three seasons, and he’s always healthy.  Rios has another three years under team control also, though he’ll be significantly cheaper.  If the Sox hadn’t traded Jon Garland, you could almost see this as a slight possibility.

Then again, if J.P. Ricciardi can get Tim Lincecum for Rios, more power to him.

Dontrelle For Josh Hamilton Was Discussed

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UPDATE, 12-8-07 at 2:47am: More excitement…throw Abraham Nunez into the mix of Marlins third base targets.  This team is going places.

FROM 12-7-07 at 11:27am:

MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro posted a new column last night full of good Marlins hot stove chatter.

  • The most interesting note is that the Marlins talked to the Reds about swapping Dontrelle Willis for Josh Hamilton, prior to the blockbuster with Detroit. 
  • With Miguel Cabrera, the White Sox and Rangers were involved during the Meetings before the Tigers jumped in.  The Rangers backed out when they couldn’t get an extension window for Cabrera.  The Tigers wanted the same but obviously it wasn’t the dealbreaker.  The Angels, Dodgers, and Giants were involved before the Meetings, with the Giants offering Noah Lowry.
  • Frisaro says there are "strong indications the Marlins will sign Jorge Cantu.  He’ll be in the mix at third base.
  • The Fish are offering the Phils Scott Nestor for Wes Helms, who’d also compete at the hot corner.
  • The Mets have some interest in Alfredo Amezaga, though the Marlins are inclined to keep him.
  • Miguel Olivo will be released soon, so throw him into the catcher market with Michael Barrett. 

Coco Crisp’s Agent Speaks

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Coco Crisp’s agent, Steve Comte, supplied all sorts of quotes to the Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford.  Covelli’s not a fourth outfielder, he’s better than Jacoby Ellsbury, he’s a proven commodity, stuff like that.  It was interesting to read, and you can see where Crisp and Comte are coming from.  But it doesn’t really change anything, because if the Red Sox don’t trade Crisp and he wants his $4.75MM next year, he’s going to have to live with a reduced role.

Bradford mentions that the White Sox, A’s, Rangers, and Braves have inquired on Crisp.  The Padres, Twins, and Orioles have also been connected to him.

Rangers Like Patterson, Ethier, Hamilton, Fukudome

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According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers are targeting various young outfielders.

  • Corey Patterson, 28, is a free agent and Scott Boras client.  He’s looking for multiple years while the Rangers only want to give one.  His talent might tantalize somebody, though he hit just .269/.304/.386 this year.  He’s shown in the past that he can hit like a league average CF and play plus defense, so he could be a bargain.  Patterson reversed his platoon split this year, hitting lefties pretty well.  He’s an Atlanta native; maybe the Braves would be a match.
  • Andre Ethier, 26 in April, is expendable now that the Dodgers have four outfielders.  His career line of .295/.357/.464 is solid, though that is average for an AL right fielder.  The Dodgers may opt to move Juan Pierre instead, if they can find a taker.  The Dodgers previously had interest in Rangers reliever Joaquin Benoit, according to Sullivan.  The Rangers would have competition from the Rays on Ethier.
  • Josh Hamilton, 27 in May, could be moved by the Reds for a starting pitcher.  Hamilton was incredible in 300 ABs for the Reds this year in his MLB debut, despite several years off and only 89 ABs above A ball.  That’s #1 pick talent.  He dealt with wrist, hamstring, and stomach problems this year however.  Sullivan says the Reds would want Edinson Volquez for him; there was talk of sending him to Florida for Dontrelle Willis previously.
  • Kosuke Fukudome, 31 in April, hasn’t decided yet whether to play in MLB.  Even limited by an elbow issue he hit .294/.443/.520 in Japan.
  • Milton Bradley, 30 in April, needs more time to decide on the Padres’ $4MM offer.  Coming off knee surgery, he might be interested in the Rangers’ open DH job.  Bradley is injury-prone, but he hit .306/.402/.545 in 209 ABs this year.
  • Others who have been mentioned: Coco Crisp, Rocco Baldelli, Jim Edmonds, and Juan Pierre.

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