Thome Down To Last Year Of Contract
Jim Thome told Scott Merkin of MLB.com Wednesday that he plans on playing beyond 2009. His contract with the White Sox, however, runs out at the conclusion of this season.
Thome claims to be in great shape and knocked 34 balls out of the park last year. His power would be welcome in most lineups.
"If this is my last year [in Chicago], I’m truly going to enjoy every minute of it — as I am going to enjoy this last phase of my career… Playing for [manager] Ozzie [Guillen] and with guys from Konerko to Dye to A.J., they are all proven winners. I’ve been given the chance to play in a great, winning organization."
Odds and Ends: Saito, Teixeira, LaRoche
More Tuesday links…
- Over at RotoAuthority, David Chase examines more of the optimistic Spring Training reports of ’08. Particularly interesting: did pitchers follow up on their intention to use a new pitch?
- The Marlins’ Scott Proctor signing is official. Also, Chan Ho Park with the Phillies.
- Carl Pohlad’s three sons will take over for their father.
- McCovey Chronicles trade idea: Randy Winn for Xavier Nady.
- Add Randy Choate to the minor league deals for the Rays.
- Economist J.C. Bradbury says "the economic downturn cannot explain the magnitude of Pat Burrell‘s discount." He believes teams are exaggerating the recession effect.
- Keith Law says the risk in giving Milton Bradley a three-year deal "seems excessive" but notes that Bradley is an excellent hitter and above-average defender.
- Patrick Newman learned that Takashi Saito received almost ten offers last month, including proposals from the Cardinals and Red Sox. Newman also has new reports of various minor league-level Japanese players who want to join MLB organizations.
- Tony Massarotti has all kinds of questions about Boston’s failure to sign Mark Teixeira. Craig Calcaterra offers analysis on the team’s Boras relationship. Check out stuff from today’s Yankees press conference here and here.
- Sox Machine on how Jim Thome staying healthy messed up Ken Williams’ plans.
- Dejan Kovacevic says Adam LaRoche would like to stay in Pittsburgh past ’09, but the team is not considering an extension.
Stark’s Latest: Dye, Greinke, Teixeira
Jayson Stark’s Winter Meetings preview is up; let’s take a look.
- Stark sees "just about zero chance" the Padres trade Jake Peavy at the Meetings. The Cubs will need at least a few weeks to settle their ownership situation before they can make a trade and take on his contract. Plus, a Stark source says it makes sense for the Padres to wait until the top free agent starters are off the board.
- The Braves, Reds, Royals, Rays, and possibly Mets have shown interest in Jermaine Dye. Dye played for the Royals from 1997-2001 before he was traded for Neifi Perez. The White Sox are willing to trade Paul Konerko and Jim Thome too.
- The Mariners would listen on "pretty much anybody." But given the surplus of closers on the market, it seems unlikely that Jack Zduriencik will be bowled over with an offer for J.J. Putz.
- The Royals really don’t want to trade Zack Greinke, but they’ll at least discuss him. The price would be massive. It doesn’t look like they want to trade David DeJesus or Mark Teahen either, but Jose Guillen can be had.
- The Marlins have been pushing Jorge Cantu over Jeremy Hermida, though Hermida’s drawn plenty of interest. Nick Cafardo named the Rays, Reds, and Giants earlier today.
- The Angels figure to attach a two or three-day deadline to their eventual Mark Teixeira offer.
- Stark sees Rafael Furcal and Casey Blake as the two free agents most likely to sign this week. Most execs Stark surveyed see Teixeira and Manny Ramirez signing in January.
Javier Vazquez Trade Reactions
The word yesterday evening was that the Braves acquired starter Javier Vazquez and lefty reliever Boone Logan for Tyler Flowers, Brent Lillibridge, Jon Gilmore, and Santos Rodriguez (MLB.com’s Mark Bowman confirms the prospects). Look for the trade to become official tommorrow. Reactions to the deal:
- South Side Sox expects a couple of accompanying moves: the trade of Jermaine Dye for a young starter and the signing of an affordable free agent outfielder. They don’t see the White Sox benefitting from the Vazquez trade in 2009, but at least Ozzie cleared out his doghouse.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says the Sox will still have power if Dye is dealt. Gonzales also provides info on the prospects received for Vazquez.
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown says the White Sox are also willing to trade Paul Konerko and Jim Thome.
- Sox Machine provides a more in-depth look at the prospects.
- From the Braves’ point of view, J.C. Bradbury sees this as a solid win-now move that won’t affect the ’09 team.
- Ken Davidoff says the Braves will now have less of a need for Jake Peavy or A.J. Burnett. I think, though, that they’ll still aggressively try to acquire one of the two. Most of the rumored packages for Peavy didn’t involve the prospects sent to Chicago, with the possible exception of Flowers.
- Dave Cameron notes Vazquez’s career-long underachievement. This always baffled me when trying to do fantasy baseball projections based on component stats.
Odds And Ends: Saltalamacchia, White Sox, Ludwick
Links for Sunday…
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia says playing with Jason Varitek for the Red Sox would be a "dream come true."
- Ken Davidoff writes that the White Sox would like to trade Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko or Jim Thome.
- Bernie Miklasz asks whether the Cardinals believe in Ryan Ludwick.
- According to the Chicago Tribune, 19-year-old Cuban prospect Dayan Viciedo has raw tools and questionable commitment. Yesterday, the Chicago Sun-Times suggested the Sox were interested.
- Mike Jacobs doesn’t expect to walk more than he did last year.
- Tim Cowlishaw thinks the Rangers should try to sign Manny Ramirez.
- Phil Rogers says that the Cubs could sign Ryan Dempster by Thursday. Rogers doesn’t expect Manny Ramirez or C.C. Sabathia to sign soon.
White Sox Looking For Speed
With their season over, it’s time to round up some White Sox rumors.
- Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald says GM Kenny Williams wants to add speed to the top and bottom of his order. Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune hints at the same.
- The speedy and available: Brian Roberts, Ichiro Suzuki (maybe), Coco Crisp, Nick Punto, Willy Taveras, Jerry Hairston Jr., Juan Pierre, Randy Winn, Bobby Abreu, Luis Castillo, Corey Patterson, Julio Lugo, and Cesar Izturis.
- Gonzales says Juan Uribe (free agent) and Toby Hall (club option) would like to return. Ken Griffey Jr. would also be willing to talk.
- Gonzales ponders a veteran shakeup, wondering if the Sox will look to move players with no-trade clauses such as Paul Konerko, Jim Thome, and Javier Vazquez. Chris De Luca sees Nick Swisher staying, but no chance of re-signing Orlando Cabrera.
Odds & Ends: Thome, Fuentes, Reyes
A few links from the afternoon/evening…
- Jim Thome’s 9th inning strikeout on Saturday night allowed his 2009 option to kick in, as it was his 564th plate appearance. Thome needed to reach 1100 plate appearances between 2007 and 2008 for the option to be a factor.
- Rockies’ closer Brian Fuentes would like to remain with the club in 2009. He enjoys his teammates and has experienced success, but also understands that baseball is a business and he may end up somewhere else.
- Another left-handed relief option that hasn’t garnered much attention is the Twins’ Dennys Reyes. Reyes is a free agent after the 2008 season, and credits the Twins for his turnaround over the past three seasons. He’d like to remain with the club, but because of new left-handed options like Craig Breslow and emerging prospect Jose Mijares, Reyes may have become expendable.
Thome’s ’09 Option
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times discusses Jim Thome‘s ’09 option. Cowley says Thome needs 392 more plate appearances this year for the $13MM salary to vest. The White Sox can choose a $3MM buyout if it does not vest.
However, both Cot’s Baseball Contracts and the Chicago Tribune indicate that Thome’s ’09 option vests if he tallies 564 PAs this year. He already has 274, so he needs 292 more. He should be able to pull it off if he starts 75 more games. The White Sox have 85 games left. Today’s game is the last in an NL park, so Thome can go back to DHing regularly. This option will go right down to the wire.
Thome may be back regardless, according to the Tribune in February. The White Sox have been getting a half price deal on his contract; the Phillies paid them $22MM.
Don’t Overlook Haigwood In Thome Deal
At this point, the Jim Thome for Aaron Rowand trade is old news (at least with the speed news travels around the Internet). ESPN is reporting that Buster Olney broke the trade, although I think Bruce Levine may have had it first.
One part of the deal that’s getting zero publicity so far is the White Sox’s inclusion of 22 year-old lefty starter Daniel Haigwood. Once you add it all up, receiving Jim Thome and $22MM for Aaron Rowand, Haigwood, and a third player is nowhere near a good deal for the Sox. For this article, I want to focus on the potential of the known minor leaguer.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at Haigwood. He missed 2003 after tearing the ACL in his left knee, and his control was shaky in his first season after the surgery in A ball. Despite the questionable performance in ’04, Haigwood was still ranked the 19th best prospect in his organization by Baseball America.
In July of this year, Haigwood was promoted to Double A Birmingham. He was absolutely phenomenal in eleven starts there, going 6-1 with a 1.74 ERA. He was unhittable, surrendering no home runs in 67 innings. His strikeout rate continued to climb past ten per nine innings.
The knock on Haigwood is his control – he still walks four men per nine innings. He’s got an excellent curve ball, a decent two-seamer, and a developing change-up. Did I mention he’s left-handed?
If Haigwood refines his control a bit, it’s reasonable to project him as a 3rd starter in the big leagues in 2007. Remember the name, because the Phillies acquired more than a run-of-the-mill throw-in in the Thome deal.
Jim Thome To The White Sox
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.