Odds and Ends: Kelly Johnson, Nathan, Crede
Time for some early Monday odds and ends.
- Remember how White Sox GM Ron Schueler embarrassed Cubs GM Ed Lynch in 1998 by acquiring Jon Garland for Matt Karchner? Rany Jazayerli sees a parallel to that heist with the Royals’ acquisition of Daniel Cortes as part of the July ’06 Mike MacDougal trade.
- Mike Berardino’s blog continues to entertain; this time with a Dan Miceli story. Ah, knife fights with siblings. Who among us can say they haven’t had one or two?
- Buster Olney learned from Braves GM Frank Wren that Kelly Johnson has been the team’s most asked-for player in trade talks this winter.
- The look on Kyle Kendrick‘s face is priceless.
- Extension talks with the Twins and Joe Nathan have gone dormant. Nathan still thinks the gap can be bridged but wants it done before the season begins.
- Andy Marte and Shin-Soo Choo are both out of options; when Choo comes back from elbow surgery a month into the season one of them could be traded.
- Henry Schulman says the White Sox may accept prospects from the Giants for Joe Crede.
- Derek Lowe is entering his walk year, and he hasn’t had any extension talks with the Dodgers yet.
Relief Is On The Way
Couple of reliever signings occurred today.
The Cards inked righty Russ Springer to a one-year deal for $1.75MM. Can’t complain about that one in a world where Mike Stanton got two years. The Devil Rays may have to focus on David Riske now.
Meanwhile, the White Sox locked down Mike MacDougal for three years and $6.45MM with a club option for 2010. The idea here is to buy out his arbitration years and perhaps first year of free agency. If healthy, he provides a viable alternative should Bobby Jenks be unable to pitch the ninth inning.
ESPN: White Sox Alfonso Soriano Trade?
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.