A.J. Pierzynski

Not long ago, it seemed unlikely that the White Sox would have room for A.J. Pierzynski after 2010. They had Tyler Flowers, a minor league catcher who ranked among baseball's best prospects. Flowers, 24, was coming off his second consecutive season with a .900 OPS and seemed ready to hit in the majors.

But Flowers has slumped in Triple A this year and Pierzynski has posted the lowest on base and slugging percentages of his career. The White Sox appeared to have two sure things just five months ago, but now a lot of that certainty has vanished. Despite his slump, Flowers is hitting .220/.334/.434 with 16 homers in Triple A, so the White Sox don't have to fret too much. Their catching prospect can still hit – he has just struggled to produce like he did earlier in his minor league career, when he posted an .800 OPS everywhere he went.

Flowers still hasn't made the transition from heir apparent to everyday player, so GM Kenny Williams will likely want a veteran catcher on the roster going into 2011. The Indians (Carlos Santana) and Giants (Buster Posey) both cautiously ushered young catchers into the majors this year and the White Sox could aim to do something similar. Santana and Posey hit so well in the minors that their teams created space in the majors and called them up by mid-season. 

Pierzynski is still just 33 and he hit well in 2009, but this year he's hitting just .265/.297/.381. He was consistently productive in Chicago from 2005-09 and it's doubtful that the White Sox are going to weigh five so-so months over five full seasons when they decide whether they're interested in re-signing Pierzynski this offseason.

If the White Sox offer Pierzynski, a projected Type A free agent, arbitration, he could accept and return to Chicago on a one-year deal. If he turned it down and signed elsewhere, the White Sox would obtain two high picks in next year's draft.

The White Sox may let Pierzynski walk and rely on Flowers and a veteran catcher, as we would have predicted before the season. But if they don't want to hand the starting catcher's job to a rookie whose minor league numbers are fading, the White Sox can always offer Pierzynski arbitration and deal with the consequences if and when Flowers hits his way to the majors.

According to MLB.com's Scott Merkin, notable Chicago minor leaguers such as Jordan Danks, Tyler Flowers, Dan Hudson or Dayan Viciedo could possibly be dealt if the right acquisition becomes available.  White Sox GM Kenny Williams spoke to the media on Wednesday and hinted that now that the Sox have played themselves back into contention, he wouldn't hesitate to trade part of the team's future for further success this season.

"Well, if there's an opportunity to win a World Series, you got to do what you got to do sometimes — within reason," Williams said. "But it's got to be, you have to have a real opportunity. I think we have an opportunity."

Chicago's apparent trading strategy, if they do indeed make a deal, would be to move largely unproven talents rather than players who have already had an impact in the majors.  Merkin notes that the likes of Gordon Beckham, John Danks and Gavin Floyd are all but untouchable for the near future.

Of those prospects, a Flowers trade would probably have the most impact on Chicago's major league roster.  It had been widely assumed that A.J. Pierzynski would be allowed to leave after his contract expires this winter, since Flowers would then step in behind the plate for the Sox in 2011.  (Indeed, there were even rumors that Pierzynski would be traded before his ten-and-five rights kicked in on June 14.)  If Flowers was dealt, however, the White Sox might well look to re-sign their veteran catcher over other soon-to-be free agents like John Buck or Bengie Molina.

In a separate piece, Merkin highlights how surprising it is that the Sox are now considered to be buyers at the trade deadline given that the club looked to be out of the race just a few weeks ago.  Chicago has been linked to Adam Dunn and other left-handed bats, though Williams told Merkin that the team might also stand pat.  Such a decision wouldn't sit well with the Chicago media and fanbase, but it's prudent of Williams to wait and see if his team really is as good as they've seemed of late before dealing a key prospect.