White Sox Keen On Rowand?
The Philadelphia Inquirer mentioned today that Aaron Rowand remains a favorite of White Sox management. According to the paper, the Sox are expected to try to sign him as a free agent after 2007. Of course, Kenny Williams and Pat Gillick seem to get along well these days, so a deal could be struck. On the other hand, Ryan Sweeney or Brian Anderson could be a solid center fielder by 2008 for the league minimum.
Two days ago, Buster Olney mentioned that the Padres were kicking around the idea of sending a reliever to Philly for Rowand.
Buehrle Expected To Leave White Sox
At SoxFest yesterday, there was an amusing back-and-forth between Kenny Williams and Mark Buehrle. While they were in the same room, they exchanged barbs through reporters.
Buehrle feels Williams said directly that the southpaw would not be back with the Sox in ’08. It seems that Williams alluded to that in a more roundabout way, however. Bottom line: both parties seem to agree that Buehrle will price himself out of the White Sox’s range.
The lefty needs a major bounce-back season to snag the huge deal he seemed in line for before 2006. He posted a 6.44 ERA in the second half of ’06. He’ll probably give the Cardinals a decent hometown discount and eventually work something out with Walt Jocketty. Still, would he take less than five years and $60MM?
The Cardinals could easily be Buehrle’s third team, as Williams might want to exchange Buehrle for some nice prospects before 2007 ends. A lot will depend on the development of young pitchers and the team’s place in the standings.
White Sox To Sign Erstad
Pending a physical, the White Sox will sign center fielder Darin Erstad to a one-year deal with an option. The Sox don’t have much certainty in left or center field, so Erstad will have plenty of opportunity. The average AL CF hit .275/.334/.437 in ’06, which is probably out of Erstad’s reach.
Brian Anderson seems to have fallen out of favor with Chicago, leaving Ryan Sweeney as Erstad’s main competition in center. Scott Podsednik is expected to hold down left field again once he recovers from groin surgery, though he’ll have to hold off Josh Fields.
To hear PECOTA tell it, the Sox should go with Sweeney and Anderson at the same time above all other options.
Erstad Options
According to Ken Rosenthal, free agent center fielder Darin Erstad is expected to choose a team this week. The 32 year-old has a slight chance at signing with the Angels or Cubs, but is more likely to choose between the Marlins or White Sox.
It appears that Florida is Erstad’s best shot at regular playing time, given that his competition is Alex Sanchez. With Chicago Erstad would split time with Brian Anderson and perhaps Ryan Sweeney.
Rosenthal reports that the Cubs hope to acquire a young, cheap CF to hold the fort until Felix Pie is ready. This comes despite the recent proclamation that Alfonso Soriano would play center. Pie has an interesting PECOTA projection – Baseball Prospectus forecasts a .289/.342/.481 line from him as a 22 year-old in the Majors.
White Sox Considering Erick Aybar?
In his latest blog post at ESPN, Peter Gammons mentions that the White Sox might pursue Angels shortstop Erick Aybar if Juan Uribe‘s future remains unclear. Joe Crede could be the trade candidate.
Aybar, who turned 23 yesterday, hit .283/.327/.413 in Triple A last year (equivalent to .234/.269/.328 in the Majors). Baseball America ranks Aybar as the Angels’ third best prospect, behind Brandon Wood and Nick Adenhart. Aybar has come up in many trade rumors already in his career. According to BA, Aybar handles the bat well and his glove, arm, and speed are plus tools. They see him as more of a bottom-of-the-order, defensive-minded SS.
My feeling is that swapping out Uribe and Crede for Aybar and Fields would make the Sox significantly worse in 2007…but it is just a trade rumor right now.
The Barry Zito Market
First, let’s start with the White Sox. Multiple emailers have told me that SNY’s baseball insider Seth Everett reported yesterday that he thinks Chicago might join the Barry Zito chase. I can’t vouch for this report as I didn’t see it myself. Regardless, the rumor is making the rounds. Here’s why I think it would be highly unlikely:
1. While no team loves Scott Boras, the White Sox have a particular distaste for him.
2. Jerry Reinsdorf has a policy: no contracts over three years for pitchers. That came into effect after they signed Jaime Navarro for four years (he was awful).
3. It doesn’t fit in with Kenny Williams’s apparent plan at all.
Meanwhile, Jon Daniels is "not terribly encouraged" of the Rangers’ chances at signing Zito, mentioned on the heels of his Brandon McCarthy acquisition.
The New York Daily News reports that the Mets have not yet made an official offer. It appears that the Mariners and Giants are still involved.
New Evidence In Juan Uribe Case?
It appears that Listin Diario, the oldest daily newspaper of the Dominican Republic, indicated earlier this week that White Sox shortstop Juan Uribe may not be out of the woods on attempted murder charges. The original article seems to have vanished, but a decent English translation can be found here.
In late November it seemed like Uribe was going to be cleared of the shooting. However, the prosecution is promising new evidence that Uribe was involved. It certainly seems possible that the Sox will enter 2007 with Alex Cintron at shortstop.
Hat tip to Southside Sox for the story.
Rangers Acquire Brandon McCarthy For Danks And Masset
In a quite unexpected move, the White Sox have traded starter Brandon McCarthy to Texas for top prospects John Danks and Nick Masset.
The Sox were interested in Masset at least a month ago, considering trading Brian Anderson to the Rangers. Masset, a righthander, will turn 25 in May. Baseball America ranked him eighth among Ranger prospects. He had Tommy John surgery as a senior in high school, which could be viewed as a positive (given that his new tendon/ligament doesn't have a lifetime of wear and tear on it). Masset converted to relief this year and was able to dial his fastball into the high 90s. He could be yet another hard thrower in Chicago's explosive bullpen in 2007.
Danks, a southpaw, turns 22 in April. He was the Rangers' best prospect according to BA. He throws three solid pitches and has pitched well in the minors despite being young for his levels. He'll compete for the fifth spot in Chicago's rotation. He's the prize of the deal.
While B-Mac has 150 innings of Major League experience, it'd be tough to argue that he's worth as much as Danks and Masset combined. The 23 year-old was confined to the bullpen in 2006 because the Sox had no openings in the rotation. With groundball rates around 37%, McCarthy doesn't seem particularly suited for Ameriquest. He'll still be a valuable commodity if he can find a way to keep the ball in the yard. You can view my RotoAuthority projection of McCarthy as a Ranger here.
No one thought Kenny Williams would trade McCarthy, but it looks like he got an offer he couldn't refuse. You have to admire that he has a plan and he's sticking to it.
Alex Rios On The Block
ESPN’s Buster Olney reports in his blog that the Blue Jays are willing to trade right fielder Alex Rios, who turns 26 in February. The Blue Jays are in search of one more quality starter to pair with Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Gustavo Chacin, and perhaps Casey Janssen or Shaun Marcum. It’s a necessity in the AL East.
Back in 2004, Baseball America ranked Rios sixth among all prospects, between Rickie Weeks and Kaz Matsui. Rios earned a promotion to Toronto without mastering Triple A, and his growth kind of stagnated for two years. He played some center field while Vernon Wells was out, and also served as the leadoff hitter for a while.
Before the breakout, many teams tried to pry Rios away. The Nats talked about a Rios for Nick Johnson deal in December of 2004. You can bet Jim Bowden would love him in CF, but doesn’t have the goods for a trade. In the winter of ’05, the Rangers were offering Kevin Mench for Rios while the Nats countered with Brad Wilkerson.
The much-awaited breakout happened this year, as Rios mashed at .330/.383/.585 for 270 ABs leading up to his June 29th leg injury (staph infection). He returned on July 28th and hit .261/.297/.411 thereafter. It was an ugly couple of months but he did bounce back in September.
Some projections for ’07:
Ron Shandler: .293/.337/.500
Bill James: .286/.336/.442
On his glovework, The Fielding Bible wrote:
"Rios is an excellent defender, a five-tool player with outstanding range and speed and a strong, accurate arm suited for right field. The Jays would love to switch him to center field where he is a better offensive fit, but they have a Gold Glover in Vernon Wells entrenched there."
With Ichiro now in center, Rios may be baseball’s best defensive RF.
Olney mentions a few trade possibilities: to the Dodgers for Brad Penny, to the A’s for Joe Blanton, or to the Mets for a package of young guys. Olney didn’t bring up the White Sox, but there could be an excellent fit. The Sox could use Rios in center in 2007, and perhaps shift him back to right in ’08 if Jermaine Dye leaves.
White Sox Sign Toby Hall
According to a press release from the White Sox, the team has signed free agent catcher Toby Hall to a two-year, $3.65MM deal. There’s a $2.25MM club option for 2009.
Hall turned 31 this year; he hit well after a trade to the Dodgers after a June 27th trade from the Devil Rays. Hall didn’t like being a backup and requested a trade in July. Today’s signing indicates that he just couldn’t find full-time work anywhere, since A.J. Pierzynski plays a good 135 games a year.
Hall is a solid defender and his right-handed stick complements A.J. well. He’s got a high-contact hitting style but little power or ability to draw walks. Hence, the lack of interest in him as a starter.