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Buehrle Cleans Out Locker

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And in other news, I tidied up my desk today.  Mark Buehrle’s housecleaning, however, is just barely newsworthy.  It could be a sign that a deal is impending, or it could just be plain old cleaning.  I can speak from experience: I only cleaned out my high school locker when school was out for summer.  And I found an old sandwich.  Just saying.

Ken Rosenthal mentioned today that various execs still expect Buehrle to be traded.  The Dodgers, Mets, and Mariners seem to be the top contenders. 

Buehrle, for his part, is as sick of the constant rumors as you are.  He’s planning on testing free agency if he doesn’t stay with Chicago.

UPDATE: Jayson Stark is reporting that Williams is asking for three players for Buehrle, two of which must be premium prospects.  Ultimately I think KW will settle for just one top prospect.  Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times would begrudgingly surrender center fielder Adam Jones.

Stark adds that the Red Sox are back in the Buehrle sweepstakes, trying to push Julio Lugo on the White Sox as part of the deal. 

White Sox A Match For Orlando Hudson

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Speculating has been going strong for quite a while now that the White Sox have interest in Diamondbacks second baseman Orlando Hudson.  As Yahoo’s Tim Brown explains, Josh Byrnes and Kenny Williams talk often and Byrnes could use a starting pitcher.

As I mentioned earlier, the D’Backs have cheap options at second base if they’re willing to sacrifice some defense.  Or the Sox could just include Tadahito Iguchi in the deal.  The White Sox would basically be acquiring Hudson for 2008.  He would certainly fit the bill of Major League talent Williams desires, and he’d strengthen the team defensively.  Byrnes could go after Mark Buehrle or Jose Contreras, or even re-acquire Javier Vazquez.  I think an additional prospect aside from Hudson would be required for Buehrle or Vazquez.  Maybe Dustin Nippert.   

 

White Sox Interested In Elijah Dukes?

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The Devil Rays optioned Elijah Dukes to Class A and put him on the temporary inactive list back on June 22nd.  He’s earning his Major League salary and getting counseling for his problems.

According to Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus, the White Sox may be interested.  Given their clear need for outfielders for 2008, a Dukes trade makes plenty of sense.  Chicago is a far way from Tampa and would represent a fresh start for Dukes.

Andrew Friedman and Kenny Williams have yet to match up for a trade to the best of my knowledge, though the Rays apparently have interest in Chicago’s available starters.   

Buehrle Contract Talks At Stalemate

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After Kenny Williams went public with negotiations the other day,  the only logical step for Jeff Berry (Mark Buehrle’s agent) was to do the same.  Williams had explained the gap as an 18-month period where Buehrle would lack no-trade protection.  Berry now describes that as 20 months, and says his client won’t budge on it.  Why should he?  He’s already about to sign a well below-market contract.  The White Sox can’t have their cake and eat it too.

Furthermore, Berry confirmed that if Buehrle is traded he will certainly exercise his right to free agency after the season.  He could give his new team extra consideration but he’ll still hit the open market.

Most fans would not consider Buehrle’s request unreasonable, so the White Sox will still have some ugly PR if this thing falls through over this issue. 

White Sox Outfield Wide Open For 2008

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The White Sox may have to hold open tryouts to find outfielders for the 2008 season.  Right now, they’ve got nothing.

  • Jermaine Dye is all but a lock to leave via free agency, unless he’s traded first.
  • Ozzie Guillen publicly dissed Scott Podsednik, calling him "unreliable."  Pods is a nontender candidate, just like last year.  I supported the decision to keep him at that time, but not to rely on him.
  • The hope is that Ryan Sweeney, who will be 23 next season, can hit enough to keep his head above water and play acceptable center field defense.  He doesn’t have the bat for a corner.  He’s only had 80 ABs in the bigs and has a .776 OPS in Triple A.  He’s anything but a sure thing, though the team’s best position player prospect.
  • The best outfield prospect aside from Sweeney was probably Aaron Cunningham, who the White Sox recently sent to Arizona for Danny Richar.  Richar is probably Tadahito Iguchi’s replacement, but Cunningham could develop more power and make the Sox look bad.  Williams already shipped off Chris Young to Arizona. 
  • There’s Jerry Owens, who will be 27 and has no power.  It might be a stretch to call him a starting outfielder, and you can’t have both he and Sweeney in there at the same time.  I mean, technically you can put Sweeney in right but that’s a lousy outfield.
  • Andy Gonzalez, Rob Mackowiak, Pablo Ozuna, Luis Terrero, Brian Anderson, Darin Erstad…none of these guys have business starting in a Major League outfield for a contending team.  I can see the Sox re-signing Erstad, but he has a .652 OPS this year.

Williams needs to come up with at least one Major League quality outfielder this month via trade, because he pretty much has nothing for next year.  Nate Silver imagined a fun outfield of Josh Fields, Sweeney, and Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome for next year.  Signing a big bat like Fukudome seems almost an imperative.  The Sox will have plenty of options on the free agent market, including Eric Byrnes, Torii Hunter, Aaron Rowand, and Mike Cameron.  It’d be superb if Williams could snag one top prospect type, such as Lastings Milledge, Matt Kemp, or Carlos Quentin.   

Buehrle Extension Lives

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UPDATE: Kenny Williams spoke to the press tonight; the White Sox have offered Buehrle no-trade protection except for an 18-month span.  It seems likely that the two sides reach an agreement.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times believes tonight could be Mark Buehrle’s last start as a member of the White Sox.  His teammates have been collecting memorabilia, and extra support is expected tonight at U.S. Cellular.  Hard to believe that this thing died over a no-trade clause.  Perhaps Buehrle wanted a full and the Sox would only give a partial.  But how can they justify passing on a well below-market commitment of 4/54?  The Sox are definitely built to win in 2008.  Everyone Buster Olney talked to is stunned as well.

Dylan Hernandez and Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times reported this morning on discussions between the Dodgers and White Sox about Buehrle.  The Sox want outfielder Matt Kemp in a trade.  They may even be asking for more, perhaps Chad Billingsley or Jonathan Broxton.  We know that Kenny Williams’ starting point was each team’s two best prospects.  If the clubs ultimately settle on Kemp for Buehrle straight up – something the Dodgers hope to avoid – Williams will have done well.  He needs an outfielder he can build around.  The L.A. Daily News, however, says no deal is close and the Dodgers haven’t even talked to the White Sox since before extension negotiations died.

Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune believes the Mets, Braves, Red Sox, Brewers, and Dodgers will all now increase their interest in Buehrle.  And Lance Berkman of the Astros is now campaigning for him too.  Cowley mentions in his article that the Mets’ interest is now heating up.  And if you’re wondering what the Mariners might be able to offer, check out Dave Cameron’s take.

One long shot possibility: this is all just a noise by the White Sox and they’ll make an extension announcement before Buehrle takes the mound.  That’s the scenario Sox fans are hoping for at this point.

Contreras Actually Lacks No-Trade Clause

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The White Sox informed the Chicago Sun-Times today that Jose Contreras’s no-trade clause actually ran out in November of 2006.  So much for Contreras waiving anything.  Joe Cowley says the Mets, Braves, and Dodgers are all interested. 

I wouldn’t be shocked to see Kenny Williams deal Buehrle and another starter.  He could trade Buehrle for a top position player prospect, and then swap Contreras or Javier Vazquez for a younger starter.  It will be tough for KW to sit back and close up shop on starters after making a Buehrle trade.  A Buehrle trade may only increase the desperation of the remaining clubs.  Williams might still have the best available starter in his stable, if the competition is Matt Morris and Jason Jennings. 

Marlins, Brewers Scouting White Sox

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According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, the Marlins and Brewers have been scouting the White Sox lately.

Gonzales believes the Marlins may be looking at Triple A center fielder Brian Anderson.  He mentions that the Fish have been fans of BA for quite a while.  Anderson is currently a member of the Charlotte Knights, but did not play in today’s blowout against Pawtucket.  Anderson is 25 now and hitting just .239/.302/.364 in Triple A.  A fresh start in a new organization could help.

Gonzales says the Brewers have been scouting Chicago’s pitching.  Not sure how a team that just demoted Yovani Gallardo to the bullpen would be in need of pitching, but you can never have too much. 

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Morris, Buehrle

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Ken Rosenthal’s got a new Full Count video over at FOXSports; have a look.  Trade rumors:

  • The Padres went with the Barrett/Bradley acquisitions in part because the price on Adam Dunn was just too high.  Wayne Krivsky could get more teams involved if he exercises Dunn’s 2008 option and tries to trade him in the offseason, a la Gary Sheffield.  However, unlike Sheff, Dunn has full no-trade protection until June 15th if the option is picked up.  Then on June 15th it switches to a ten-team consent list of Dunn’s choosing.  The bottom line: the time to trade him is now.
  • The Giants are listening to offers for Matt Morris, but might prefer to just keep him.  He sets an example for younger pitchers and his contract isn’t terrible.  I think this would be a mistake on the part of Brian Sabean.  Morris’s performance this year just seems unsustainable given his 4.5 K/9.  While I recently mentioned Jason Jennings as the best available starter after Buehrle, Jennings’ health issues could push Morris to #2.
  • Rosenthal also mentioned that should he reach free agency, Mark Buehrle is no lock to sign with the Cardinals.  The Cards aren’t apt to pay full price, and Buehrle isn’t necessarily desperate to pitch close to home.

No-Trade Clause Holds Up Buehrle Extension

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According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, the White Sox are currently unwilling to include a no-trade clause in Mark Buehrle’s contract extension.  It’s not enough that the Sox would get Buehrle well below market value at four years and $54MM.  Buster Olney, by the way, wonders whether the players’ union would give Buehrle a call for signing a deal like that.

Buehrle broke into the Majors in 2000, so 10-5 no-trade rights wouldn’t kick in until 2010.  The two parties might find a middle ground in a partial no-trade clause.  Paul Konerko, for example, was able to list six teams to which he can’t be traded without consent.  My guess is that Buehrle gets something similar.

Gonzales says that if a deal can’t be reached by this weekend, Buehrle will return to the trading block.  If Buehrle does sign, Jason Jennings may become the best available starter. 

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