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Brandon McCarthy

Soriano, Sanchez, Meche: Much Ado About Nothing

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Seems that a couple of the more interesting rumors to come up today have proven to be nothing at all.

The first was ESPN’s rumor that Brandon McCarthy would be included in a Soriano to the White Sox deal, which was to be extremely close.  It seems that the deal has fallen through at least in the short term, and Kenny Williams stated publicly that neither McCarthy nor Josh Fields will be traded.  Still in the stockpile: Brian Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, Jerry Owens, Sean Tracey, Lance Broadway, Casey Rogowski, and Charlie Haeger. 

It has also been noted that Humberto Sanchez missed his start tonight due to a tender elbow.  Not exactly a way to pump up a prospect’s value, so the Tigers may have to deal other prospects.  They’ve still got Brent Clevlen, Jordan Tata, and Jair Jurrjens, among others.  Still, Sanchez seems like the one available trading chip who could help bring a star player to Detroit.      

Also, we’re unclear at this point whether the rumored ESPN Radio report of a completed Aaron Heilman for Gil Meche trade is legit.  Indications are that it was a hoax.  Sorry ’bout that.  Here’s MetsBlog’s take on this (non)rumor.

ESPN: White Sox Alfonso Soriano Trade?

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Breaking news from ESPN is that the White Sox are "extremely close" to acquiring Alfonso Soriano.  It seems that Brandon McCarthy is the main piece of the deal.

The result would be a Murderer’s Row with five players currently slugging .539 or better: Thome (.632), Dye (.620), Soriano (.594), Konerko (.555), and Crede (.539).  The Sox already lead baseball in home runs with 146.

What’s more, ESPN also reports that Kenny Williams is looking to strengthen his bullpen by sending 23 year-old southpaw Double A starter Tyler Lumsden to the Royals for Mike MacDougal.  Lumsden isn’t striking anyone out, but still has a 2.69 ERA for Birmingham.  He had elbow surgery in January of last year.

MacDougal has thrown four scoreless innings for the Royals since returning from a shoulder strain.  He was able to cut his walks to a reasonable level last year and had his best season.

UPDATE: MacDougal is a done deal.  Another pitcher was added to complete the trade.

White Sox Pursuing Jason Schmidt?

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Of couple of ESPN columnists seem to have independently arrived at the same trade rumor in their blogs in recent days.  Buster Olney’s source is a "talent evaluator" while Jayson Stark got word from "an executive who has heard this talk." 

According to Olney and Stark, the White Sox would trade Brandon McCarthy and Brian Anderson to the Giants for Jason Schmidt.  The Sox would then acquire a center fielder in a separate trade.

Schmidt, 33, has been the NL’s second best pitcher this year behind Brandon Webb. This is his contract year and he’s making $10.5 million.  Anderson and McCarthy were ranked #1 and #3 among White Sox prospects entering the 2005 season.  McCarthy has had superb control at the big league level, with his one flaw being too many home runs allowed.  U.S. Cellular inflates home runs by about 35%, while AT&T Park deflates them by around 10%.  It’s been a rough 81 games for Anderson with the Sox, but the 24 year-old remains in high regard.

Freddy Garcia, Javier Vazquez, and Jon Garland haven’t performed as well as the Sox would’ve liked; all three own ERAs near 5 entering the All-Star break.  Chicago would stand to gain an estimated three wins by replacing one of them with Schmidt.  Olney speculated that Kenny Williams could consider using one of his surplus starters to acquire a center fielder.

Names that have come up in center include Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, or Aaron Rowand.  None of the three seem feasible for various reasons.  The Sox could also consider players like Luis Matos, Willy Taveras, Brady Clark, Juan Pierre, and Ken Griffey Jr.  Clark would be a good fit if Doug Melvin makes him available.  It certainly wouldn’t hurt to add Clark’s .380 OBP to the top of the lineup, and he plays capable defense.  He’s signed through 2007.    

Details On Tejada Negotiations

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Just got a little bit of info from my White Sox source concerning the now deceased White Sox trade for Miguel Tejada.

Word is that the White Sox bowed out late Friday when the Orioles insisted on Brandon McCarthy or Lance Broadway in addition to the other players.  It seems Broadway’s status pick in the 2005 June draft would’ve necessitated his inclusion as a PTBNL.  The White Sox wouldn’t budge, and the deal died.

One other new tidbit is that the Orioles changed gears and attempted to engage the White Sox in an Erik Bedard trade.  It is speculated that Jose Contreras would’ve been involved in such a deal, but that is not confirmed.

White Sox Miguel Tejada Update

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Alright, I’ve got the goods on the current state of the White Sox’s attempt to acquire Miguel Tejada.

Remember the unknown prospect I referred to in the Orioles’ proposal?  Turns out the pitching prospect the Orioles wanted was either Lance Broadway or Brandon McCarthy.  Neither player was on the list agreed upon earlier, and the Sox scoffed at the idea of including Broadway or McCarthy.

Despite reports in both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times today, the deal is very much alive at this point.  Unfortunately, my source is more involved with the financial approval aspect of the deal (hence the statement that the Sox will take the payroll up to $105MM if necessary).  He’s been cut off from personnel discussions, so this is probably the end of the line as far as the info goes. 

White Sox Make Offers For Tejada

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A source close to a major sports representation firm has tipped me off to two offers the White Sox currently have on the table for shortstop Miguel Tejada.

Two formal proposals have been given to the Orioles by Sox GM Kenny Williams.  Williams set a drop dead date of December 31st given other clubs’ outstanding offers for Tejada.

Option 1: Jose Contreras, Juan Uribe, and one minor league prospect for Tejada.

Option 2: Brandon McCarthy, Juan Uribe, 20 year-old southpaw Alex Woodson, and another minor leaguer for Tejada.  In this scenario, the White Sox would get cash back from the Orioles in the third and fourth years of Tejada’s contract.

According to Baseball Prospectus’s WARP statistic, which combines offense and defense into a number of wins above a replacement player, Tejada was worth 3.1 more wins than Uribe in 2005.  Contreras was valued at 5.9 wins for ’05.  However, the White Sox can’t start both McCarthy and Contreras, so it’s really not a loss in pitching value for 2006.  Seems to me that the Sox would much prefer Option 1 if the O’s will consider it.

U.S. Cellular inflates right-handed hitters’ home runs by about 30%.  Tejada would stand to tack on about four home runs due to park effects.  A loss of both Juan Uribe and Aaron Rowand would weaken one of the White Sox’s two major strengths from their Championship season: their defense.  Rowand and Uribe were two of baseball’s best defenders at their positions in ’05, and Brian Anderson and Tejada would definitely be a downgrade.  Still, Williams’s offseason moves and the proposed Tejada trades certainly strengthen the club overall for ’06, at least on paper.

Carl Crawford On The Block?

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A source close to the Devil Rays’ scouting department filled me in recently on their outfielder extravaganza. 

It’s well known Joey Gathright is on the block.  If you’re looking for a scrappy player with no power who runs real fast, Gathright is your man.  It’s unknown whether Gathright can make his on-base skills shown at Triple A Durham translate to the big leagues, but some team besides the Rays will find out soon enough.  I’m not yet able to narrow down the list of his suitors to a single digit number.

Infinitely more interesting than Gathright is the possibility (albeit slim) that Carl Crawford could be dealt.  Crawford was "a little shocked" by Rocco Baldelli’s deal, and rightfully so.  After all, where was Baldelli while Crawford was busy being the 10th best LF in the game in ’05?  2006 could be the year Crawford busts out and hits 20 HR.

According to my source, the Angels are hot on the trail of Baldelli, Gathright, and Crawford.  The Rays are quite enamored with 22 year-old righthander Ervin Santana.  Santana had a solid rookie season in ’05, winning 12 games for the Angels.

Another team in the running for Crawford is the White Sox.  They’re not entirely sold on Brian Anderson in center field for a defending World Champion, and the Devil Rays are asking for Brandon McCarthy and/or Josh Fields. 

McCarthy pitched with a vengeance in September and October of 2005, tossing 43 innings of 1.69 ERA ball.  He led the Minor Leagues in strikeouts in 2004. 

Third baseman Josh Fields is in the Sox’s top ten prospect list for sure.  However, he was just OK at Double A Birmingham in ’05, hitting .252/.341/.409 in 477 at-bats.  Fields is a hard worker, but still needs plenty of seasoning in the minors.

Thanks to Matt

Jim Thome To The White Sox

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Word from ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago is that the White Sox are talking to the Phillies about Jim Thome.  Apparently the Sox would acquire Thome for some combination of Aaron Rowand, Jose Contreras, and Brandon McCarthy.  The Phillies would pay the "majority" of Thome’s contract. 

MLBTradeRumors.com is skeptical to say the least.  We haven’t received confirmation yet on which ESPN reporter floated this rumor, but the memory of Bruce Levine announcing an imminent Juan Pierre deal is all too fresh.  As proposed, this is simply way too much value for the White Sox to give up for Thome.

It makes sense for Rowand to be involved – he’s at the peak of his perceived value and the Phillies need a centerfielder.  Scott Podsednik could easily slide over to take Rowand’s place.  However, a healthy Thome as DH vs. Rowand in center field could easily be equal in value in 2006.  We’re talking 5-6 wins from each player.   

While it’s true the White Sox potentially have six starting pitchers, the club would be advised not to depend on anything from Orlando Hernandez.  Shipping off Jose Contreras after his dominant second half (2.91 ERA) probably isn’t going to happen.  Trading a young player with the promise and affordability of Brandon McCarthy seems equally unlikely.  On the other hand, Kenny Williams did deal top prospect Jeremy Reed to Seattle to acquire Freddy Garcia. 

Does the money make sense?  The ESPN report claims that the Phillies would be paying the majority of Thome’s contract.  Thome is due $12.5MM in 2006 and $14MM in 2007, $14MM in 2008, and a $3MM buyout in 2009.  (Wow, now that’s a bad contract).  Would the Phillies really pick up the tab on most of $43.5MM?  I presume we’re talking somewhere around $30MM. 

If so, three years of Thome for $4.5MM annually is a solid gamble for the White Sox.  Considering the way U.S. Cellular inflates home run totals for left-handed hitters, 40 HR could turn into 46 pretty easily.  Rowand has yet to reach free agency and is due $3.25MM in ’06 with a $5MM club option for ’07. 

A trade of Thome and $30MM for Rowand is feasible for the Sox, assuming Thome is healthy.  If the Sox made the ill-advised move to include a starting pitcher, Phillies management could justify the deal.

We’ll keep you posted as details surface about these trade talks.

Thanks to Alex.

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