You may have noticed Conor Jackson oddly playing left field last night. On the surface, the idea was just to get Jackson, Mark Reynolds, and Chad Tracy into the same lineup against Dave Bush.
However, Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Diamondbacks’ real motivation was to showcase Jackson for the White Sox. Left field is the only place the Sox could use him.
Rogers writes that while the D’Backs scouted Jose Contreras, they’re after Jon Garland or even John Danks. Javier Vazquez’s name did not come up, but wouldn’t it be crazy to see the Chris Young trade reversed? [As the always sharp commenters immediately noted, Vazquez has a no-trade clause allowing him to block trades to all nine AL/NL West teams. But it would still be cool to see the trade reversed.] Baseball America had some interesting thoughts on the impending Young/Justin Upton center field logjam today (the On The Brink section).
Rogers also adds that the D’Backs would trade right fielder Carlos Quentin. Quentin is 10 for 22 since his return to Triple A Tucson. Keep in mind that he was dealing with a small labrum tear in his left shoulder in the beginning of the season, which probably contributed to his poor play.
Either player would be a nice pickup for the Sox, who desperately need outfielders for 2008. If you’re a PECOTA fan, here are the projections for ’08 in the AVG/OBP/SLG format:
Jackson: .305/.389/.512
Quentin: .288/.380/.491
Josh Byrnes and Kenny Williams work well together, and match up nicely for another deal this summer.
