Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jermaine Dye

White Sox Won’t Trade For Prospects

By | at

White Sox GM Kenny Williams spoke to reporters yesterday, indicating that his phone lines are buzzing but he won’t be trading his future free agents for prospects.  Talent for talent is the name of the game, though the Jermaine Dye/Bobby Abreu talks have apparently died.

The Sox are given a meager 1.7% chance to make the playoffs, according to Baseball Prospectus and PECOTA.  And I rounded up.  They’re in fourth place, seven games back in the AL Central.  They’re in fifth for the wild card, 4.5 games out.  If we try this exercise without PECOTA projections, the chances still seem bleak at 4.1%.  Using a third method, Elo, the Sox have an 11.2% chance.  I’d lean toward the latter; while the competition is fierce, 4.5 games doesn’t seem insurmountable.

Williams is an optimist, which fans have to appreciate.  He even mentioned that he’s up for the "rent-a-player scenario."  That could mean acquiring even more impending free agents, like perhaps Adam Dunn.

Like all other teams, Williams has almost two months to decide if his team is truly a contender.  The worst outcome would be treading water for that time period.

Abreu For Dye Swap Still Alive

By | at

Ken Rosenthal’s recent report indicated that the Jermaine Dye for Bobby Abreu talks had cooled over the last week or so.  However, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times indicated today that this deal "has started to take some life."

Read the article, and you’ll find some quotes from Dye that apparently have annoyed the White Sox.  Personally I think his comments are just fine.  Basically he says that he will play hard for any team, and that swapping him for another veteran won’t ignite the Sox.  Who can disagree with that?  Would Abreu really spark the Sox?

The last time the Sox made a challenge trade like this, if I recall correctly, was the Esteban Loaiza for Jose Contreras swap, also with the Yankees.  That occurred at the 2004 trading deadline, and worked out quite well for the Sox.

I don’t like this trade for Chicago though.  Despite his struggles, Dye is on a 30 homer pace.  And the $16MM option on Abreu next year – that’s only appealing if he’s an All-Star for the White Sox.  That’s hard to picture given what we’ve seen, but maybe Greg Walker has ideas on how to fix him.

It should also be noted that the Giants have been scouting the White Sox recently, and could look to acquire Dye or others.

Rosenthal’s Latest Video

By | at

Ken Rosenthal reeled off a slew of sweet trade rumors in a couple of videos today, which you can watch at FOXSports.  Let’s discuss.

  • Rosenthal says the Cubs won’t trade Carlos Zambrano unless they fall out of contention or the big righty requests a trade.  Rosenthal finds neither scenario likely.  He says Zambrano still has a good relationship with Jim Hendry, and the Cubs still intend to sign him.  The contract remains on hold.  Interesting, but not surprising to see that the Cubs are still veering towards this mistake after what we’ve seen this year.
  • Lots of good Jermaine Dye stuff from Rosenthal.  About ten days ago, the White Sox kicked around the idea of sending Dye to the Yankees for Bobby Abreu.  The Yanks covet Dye’s right-handed power, and Ozzie loves Abreu, his countryman.  Rosenthal says the White Sox like the option of keeping Abreu for $16MM in ’08 if they so choose.  That option comes with a $2MM buyout attached.  The Dye/Abreu swap may be on hold because Dye is finally showing some signs of life.  I have to be honest – I don’t understand the timeline here.  If the Sox were considering this ten days ago, nothing Dye has done since should have changed their thinking.
  • Other suitors for Dye: the Padres or Dodgers.  The two NL West competitors rank 10th and 12th in the league in slugging, respectively.  No doubt the Dodgers have the goods, but what reasonable trade could the Padres work out?  Kenny Williams and Kevin Towers have matched up twice before, but on minor trades involving guys like D’Angelo Jimenez and Geoff Blum.
  • Rosenthal says the Padres are also eyeing Adam Dunn, for whom their pitchers’ ballpark would present less of an obstacle.  Two hitches: Dunn can become a free agent after this season if he’s traded, and the Reds will ask for a lot.  The Padres’ best pitching prospect, Cesar Carrillo, recently had Tommy John surgery.  Their best hitting prospect, Cedric Hunter, is trying to figure out Low A ball.  Third baseman Chase Headley is hitting well in Double A, and I’m sure plenty of teams would like to have him.  Headley is somewhat blocked by Kevin Kouzmanoff.  Honestly, though, the Padres don’t have much in the minors to trade.  At the Major League level, they might be able to part with Cla Meredith and get a decent hitter in return. 

Ozzie Shoots Down Trade Talk

By | at

The always quotable Ozzie Guillen spoke out on recent trade rumors involving Jermaine Dye and Mark Buerhle [Chicago Sun-Times]:

”It’s never been talked about,” Guillen said. ”Maybe Kenny has it in his mind, but he’s never said one thing to me about it. I want to go all the way to the end with these guys, see what we can do with these guys.

”I’ll be honest with [the media], I’ll be honest with the fans, I’ll be honest with me. If we get to that point, I’ll be the first one to tell people, ’It’s going to be hard to compete.’ But as long as we feel we can win, we’re going to keep those guys.”

Guillen did emphasize that he believes there’s a certain amount of pressure to make a postseason run this season. Not because of payroll or job-security concerns, but because he doesn’t know how long the window will stay open.

”I’ll be completely honest with you and tell you I don’t know what kind of team we’re going to have next year,” Guillen said. ”We have a lot of guys that are free agents, we have a lot of guys in the minor-league system that are close to coming up.

You have to admire Guillen’s determination to win, however, there might come a point in July when general manager Kenny Williams does come to Guillen with talk of trades.  With both the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers so far out in front of the rest of the division, even making the Wild Card could prove to be difficult.

Getting some complimentary players via trade to go along with the prospects Guillen mentions might be a way for the White Sox to rebuild quickly after what is sure to be an offseason with a lot of roster turnover.

Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere". Recently, he teamed up with his brother to launch Roto Front Office.

White Sox Won’t Talk Contract With Future Free Agents

By | at

The White Sox decided Sunday afternoon that there will be no more contract talks.  The declaration surely applies to impending free agents Mark Buehrle, Jermaine Dye, and Tadahito Iguchi.

Assuming Carlos Zambrano signs, Buehrle will hit the free agent market as the youngest starting pitcher.  He’s got a better track record than the somewhat comparable Jason Jennings, but that comes with more mileage.  Buehrle has averaged 221 innings over the past six seasons, while Jennings has averaged 180 over the past five.

Dye may vie for attention among free agent hitters like Adam Dunn, Alex Rodriguez, Andruw Jones, and Bobby Abreu.  Dunn and Abreu have fairly reasonable team options, so there may only be A-Rod and Jones in Dye’s realm.  Since Dye will be 34 heading into the 2008 season, he may sign a three-year deal.  That’d make him the top option for teams looking to keep it under $60MM but add an impact hitter.

Iguchi will be up against Marcus Giles and Luis Castillo, most likely.  He’s the steadiest performer of the three and second base isn’t as deep as last year, so he should have no problems getting around $15MM over three seasons.

The 2008 Sox could use Ryan Sweeney and Josh Fields at the outfield corners.  They’ve stocked up on arms to fill Buehrle’s spot.  I could see the White Sox bringing Iguchi back, but maybe they’d give second base to Pablo Ozuna failing that.

Fallout From Vazquez Extension

By | at

From Jermaine Dye’s point of view, it may have been odd to see the White Sox negotiate a contract extension with Javier Vazquez on Tuesday.  After talking to the club earlier, Dye’s agent told the outfielder that the Sox would not talk contract extension with any player before the end of the season.  The Daily Herald says he might accept less than Carlos Lee’s 6/100 package.  I think the Sox might consider 4/60 but he’s a long shot to re-sign.

And then there’s Mark Buehrle, whose situation is more directly related to Vazquez since both are starters.  It’s pretty clear that Buehrle wants at least four years, and the Sox have their unofficial policy to limit pitcher contracts to three.  Both sides are saying their doors are open.  It’s kind of like being on a job interview when the company asks your salary expectations.  Neither side wants to blink first. 

I know there is going to be some level of outrage/disappointment in Chicago when Buehrle hops over to the Cardinals or some other club after the season, especially if he bounces back to post an ERA around 4.  He was a huge part of the World Series team.  But sentiment should not get in the way of reality.  I think the team’s three-year policy is excellent.  I’m sure they’d bend on it if the right pitcher came along at the right price, but Buehrle isn’t it.

The Sox have Buehrle’s best seasons in the bank, and the price was reasonable.  Locking him up for his age 29-32 seasons as a reward for that isn’t good business.  It’s nothing personal.  Kenny Williams’s limit was probably the 3/30 offer he made last summer.  He was right to draw the line there.

You can question whether the Garcia/McCarthy deals made sense – the Sox are trying to have their cake and eat it too by winning and rebuilding simultaneously.  You have to admire them for trying and for Williams’s foresight.  Re-signing Buehrle or Dye at anything near the market rate just doesn’t make sense.

White Sox Interested In Abreu

By | at

Remember that Abreu/Contreras/Dye rumor that was bouncing around last night that couldn’t quite graduate from the Unfounded category?  We’re a little closer to a foundation about this one tonight.

A very solid source close to the Phillies tells me that Kenny Williams and the White Sox “love” Bobby Abreu.  It’s the first I’ve heard that the club is truly interested in the right fielder.  He also mentioned that the Phils would like a pitcher like Jose Contreras.  There is some question as to whether the Phils would need to include Gavin Floyd to make an equitable deal.

He said that with the White Sox payroll rising to over $90MM, they can’t take on much more.  However, I’ve heard in the past from my White Sox guy that the Sox would actually take the payroll to $105MM.  What’s more, the 2006 salaries of Dye, Contreras, and Abreu are a wash.  The Phils would take on $13MM and the White Sox would do the same.

The Sox would have to squeeze a marginal $11MM into their payroll in 2007.  Abreu is owed $17MM for that season (including a $2MM buyout of his ’08 option).  But given that the club likely would have exercised Jermaine Dye’s affordable $6MM option, it’s a marginal $11 mil for ’07.

This would clearly be a win now move for the Phils, as it would strengthen their team for 2006.  The combination of Contreras and Dye was worth 10.5 wins above replacement players in 2005.  Abreu was worth 6.8 wins.  While he still has potential at age 23, Gavin Floyd can’t be counted on for much after posting a 6.16 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in 137 Triple A innings in 2005.

Another interesting nugget is the close friendship between Abreu and Ozzie Guillen.  Guillen certainly had some influence on the acquisition and retention of Freddy Garcia.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top