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Rosenthal On Teahen, Linares, Red Sox

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A couple of Spring Training notes from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..

  • The White Sox are open to trading Mark Teahen, who is set to earn $4.75MM this season and $5.5MM in 2012. At the moment, the veteran is little more than a pricey utility man, though he could serve as insurance for rookie third baseman Brent Morel.  The youngster is viewed as an outstanding defender who might not be able to produce at the plate immediately.  Manager Ozzie Guillen is likely in favor of keeping Teahen as he believes that he can find significant playing time for him if Morel wins the starting job at third base.
  • Teams are asking the Red Sox about right-handed hitting outfielder Juan Carlos Linares.  Boston signed the Cuban defector 2009 for $750K.  Linares is currently set to open the season in Triple-A but the club doesn't want to sacrifice any depth.  Because of that, we probably won't see them move any significant pieces before Opening Day.

White Sox Shopping Carlos Quentin?

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SATURDAY,1:40pm: White Sox GM Kenny Williams is hoping for a "Carlos Lee-type return" in a deal for Quentin, a scout confirmed to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).  The White Sox sent Lee to Milwaukee following the 2004 season for Scott Podsednik, Luis Vizcaino, and a player to be named later (Travis Hinton).

If Willliams can't get a deal done for Quentin, Cowley tweets that he will instead look to move Dayan Viciedo or Mark Teahen.  However, Williams recognizes that the return won't be as much.

10:17am: Kenny Williams shot down the Quentin trade talk, telling Dave van Dyck of The Chicago Tribune that it's untrue (Twitter links). Williams added that he will not move a piece of his everyday lineup for bullpen help.

FRIDAY, 7:04pm: The White Sox are "actively looking" to move Carlos Quentin for a package that includes at least one reliever, tweets Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  The Sox "are asking a lot so far," according to Cowley's sources, so it's possible they may just be gauging the market at this point, though we know at least one team (Philadelphia) has shown interest in Quentin.

Since his breakout 2008 campaign (a .965 OPS and a fifth-place finish in MVP voting), Quentin has battled injuries and posted a .240/.334/.469 line over the past two seasons.  The outfielder is headed into his second arbitration year; he and the Sox avoided the process last season by agreeing on a $3.2MM contract. 

Quentin's name came up in trade rumors for Adam Dunn over the summer and more recently for Colby Rasmus.  Quentin's terrible outfield glove (a -32.7 UZR/150 in right field last year and a -25.2 UZR/150 as a left fielder in 2009) may leave him with no alternate spot in the White Sox lineup now that Dunn and Paul Konerko are firmly entrenched at the first base and DH spots.  We know the Sox are looking for bullpen help, so they may feel that need and Quentin's poor defense outweighs what he might provide at the plate.

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Hechavarria, Benson, Teahen

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Tuesday night linkage…

Execs Name Best, Worst Moves Of The Offseason

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Recently MLBTR spoke to several MLB executives to gather their nominations for the best and worst moves of the offseason.

Free agent signings that received mention for the best moves: Felipe Lopez, Adrian Beltre, Adam LaRoche, Chone Figgins, Hideki Matsui, and Aroldis Chapman.  Said one exec on Chapman: "He might truly live up to the hype."  It's hard not to praise the Cards for getting Lopez on a one-year, $1MM deal.

Three trades came up as choices for the best moves of the offseason: the Mariners' acquisition of Cliff Lee, the Royals' trade of Mark Teahen, and the Rangers' trade of Kevin Millwood.  One exec noted that the Mariners "didn't trade anyone that can hurt them in the next couple of years" for Lee, while another believed that "trading Lee and Kyle Drabek in the Roy Halladay deal will hurt [the Phillies] in the long run."  The Royals received props for "getting some value for Teahen," while the Rangers' increased payroll flexibility from the Millwood deal was noted.

Nominated for the worst moves: free agent deals for Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Brandon Lyon, Jason Kendall, Aubrey Huff, Jason Marquis, Randy Wolf, and Garrett Atkins.  All the execs polled mentioned Holliday's seven year, $120MM deal when choosing their worst deals of the winter.  Said one: "The fear that he would sign a one-year deal elsewhere and take his chances a year from now — that just doesn't make sense to me."

Aside from Kendall and Huff, there was a vibe of "like the player, hate the contract" with the panned free agent signings.  One exec felt the Royals downgraded behind the plate with Kendall.  Huff was nominated as a small-scale misstep, in that the exec felt that "Hank Blalock is better and he couldn't get half that salary on a non-roster deal."

White Sox May Be Finished With Offseason Shopping

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MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports that White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen seems satisfied to stand pat with the current composition of his roster, a decision that would leave Chicago without the everyday DH that seemed to be the club's top priority this winter.

Guillen tells Merkin that he likes the idea of using several different players (such as Andruw Jones, Paul Konerko, Mark Kotsay, Jayson Nix, or even Omar Vizquel) as a designated hitter depending on matchups or, in Konerko's case, to rest him without taking him out of the lineup altogether.

Chicago GM Kenny Williams doesn't sound entirely convinced with this plan, but seems to be willing to acquisece to Guillen on this front.  Williams told Merkin, "I don't want to do anything that conflicts with what my manager wants….Regardless if I think there might be a need for another left-handed bat in middle of the lineup, he's the one in there, and I fully support how he sees the situation fitting and piecing it together."

It's not like the Southsiders haven't been active this offseason — they acquired Mark Teahen and Juan Pierre in trades and signed Jones, Vizquel and J.J. Putz.  But given all of the high-profile designated hitter options on the market this winter, it's safe to say that White Sox fans were counting on a bit more than just Jones and Vizquel as DH upgrades.  Do you think that Williams should, in fact, look to acquire that left-handed bat or do you agree with Guillen and think the Sox roster is fine as it is?

White Sox, Teahen Agree To Three-Year Deal

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The White Sox agreed to a three-year deal with Mark Teahen, tweets team employee Scott Reifert.  AOL FanHouse's Ed Price tweets that the deal is worth $14MM (Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald has details).  Teahen hinted about the deal a few hours ago on Twitter, saying his family's Christmas wish list just got longer.  The deal buys out two arbitration years and one free agent season.  On November 6th, the Sox acquired Teahen and a million bucks from the Royals for Chris Getz and Josh Fields.  Teahen will be Chicago's regular third baseman.

My opinion: I'd rather go year-to-year with Teahen to keep my options open, but the White Sox are saving money over what he would've earned in arbitration.

White Sox Notes: Beckham, Jones, Designated Hitter

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White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen addressed some of the team's needs before heading off to Indianapolis, and MLB.com's Scott Merkin has the goods..

  • Guillen would like to find an upgrade over Gordan Beckham in the leadoff spot.  However, Guillen went out of his way to say that he is a "good RBI man" and added that he would like to move him down to sixth or seventh in the lineup.
  • Andruw Jones could be an everyday outfielder for the ChiSox if (and, as Merkin notes, "that's a big if") he reports to Spring Training in shape.
  • Guillen seems to like the flexibility that comes with not having a true designated hitter.  The way he sees it, he can use Jones, Omar Vizquel, Mark Kotsay, Paul Konerko or Mark Teahen in the spot when neccessary, and shift them around as he sees fit.
  • Freddy Garcia is working to get himself in position to be the club's fifth starter.  The 33-year-old posted a 4.34 ERA in nine starts with the White Sox last season.

Odds & Ends: Halladay, Teahen, Karstens

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Some Saturday night links:

  • MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (via Twitter) says that Roy Halladay's reported unwillingness to stay in Toronto is less than shocking and speculates that his time with the Blue Jays is nearing its end.
  • Mark Teahen's flexibility could open up some interesting options for the White Sox this winter, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  GM Ken Williams says that he likes Teahen at third base, but wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of moving him to first base or right field.
  • Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog weighed in on the Astros' signing of former Yankees minor league pitcher Jose Valdez.  Jennings was surprised not by the signing but by the fact that Houston chose to protect the once-highly touted hurler from the Rule 5 draft.
  • As mentioned by Jennings, the Pirates DFA'd pitcher Jeff Karstens.  Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com characterized the move as "somewhat surprising."  The 27-year-old posted an ERA of 5.42 and 1.16 K/BB in 108 IP last season.

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Podsednik, Giants

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Let's close out this Sunday evening with a few links…

  • Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune runs down the Cubs' offseason wish list.  Unsurprisingly, getting rid of Milton Bradley is the top priority.
  • The agent for Scott Podsednik claims that the lines of communication with the White Sox are still open, despite GM Ken Williams' reluctance to re-sign the 33-year-old, writes the Tribune's Mark Gonzales.  Scotty Pods' chances of returning decreased after the club took on salary in the trade for Mark Teahen.
  • Giants prospect Angel Villalona is out on bail, says ESPN's Enrique Rojas (via Twitter).  Villalona was charged with murder back in September.

Royals Trade Mark Teahen To White Sox

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3:42pm: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star heard the Royals sent $1MM to the White Sox with Teahen.

12:35pm: White Sox GM Ken Williams told reporters Teahen will play third base, with Gordon Beckham moving to second.  He told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that Scott Podsednik is unlikely to re-sign and the DH position might not be decided until the end of the offseason.

11:16am: The deal is official, according to a Royals press release.  The Royals acquired Getz and Fields for Teahen and cash considerations.

FRIDAY, 8:40am: Mum's still the word from all involved, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.  Late last night, Teahen tweeted that he hadn't heard anything official.

THURSDAY, 5:30pm: The story keeps changing. Now, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel, neither team has confirmed the deal.

11:13am: The White Sox have confirmed the trade, according to The Chicago Sun Times. It's Teahen for Getz and Fields.

10:17am: ESPN's Buster Olney says talks are "not that far along." Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times mentions that Getz hasn't heard anything about a trade.

9:04am: According to Bill Madden of The NY Daily News, the Royals have agreed to send the versatile Mark Teahen to the White Sox in exchange for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Madden says Teahen is expected to replace free agent-to-be Jermaine Dye in right field.

The 28-year-old Teahen hit .271/.325/.408 last year, but is a career .261/.325/.514 hitter at U.S. Cellular Field. FanGraphs has him at -2.0 UZR/150 in right, which is a massive upgrade over Dye's -17.5 mark. Teahen earned $3.575MM in 2009, and has two more years of arbitration eligibility ahead of him. He's certainly been the subject of many trade rumors over the years.

Getz, 26, was Chicago's every day second baseman for most of 2009, hitting .261/.324/.347 with 25 stolen bases in 27 attempts. Fields, 28, has struggled to find a place with the White Sox, hitting .229/.302/.416 in 746 plate appearances over the last four years while playing first, third, and left field. Both players are in their pre-arbitration years, and have a combined ten years of team control left.

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