Tag: Chicago White Sox (Page 7 of 13)

      Should White Sox give up farm for Halladay?

      July 20, 2009 /

      Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune writes that the White Sox should be willing to give up a significant amount of talent in order to acquire Blue Jays’ ace Roy Halladay.

      Let’s put on our GM cap and start with shortstop Alexei Ramirez and pitcher John Danks. I know: a steep price. But worth it. Halladay is the overpowering pitcher the Sox haven’t had since Jack McDowell. Last season, he struck out 206 batters and walked 39. So far this year, it’s 106-17.

      He would be a difference-maker for a club like the White Sox, who are within 1 1/2 games of first place in the American League Central. How does a rotation of Halladay, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras and Gavin Floyd sound? It makes all the heated conversations about a fifth starter seem almost meaningless.

      The White Sox played well enough before the All-Star break to end any discussion about whether they’ll be sellers before the July 31 trade deadline. Now they need to be buyers. It very well could be that they would have to give up a prospect or two in addition to two major-leaguers. Do it.

      Not that I disagree with what Morrissey wrote, but allow me to play devils advocate here.

      Halladay is a free agent after the 2010 season and will mostly likely test the free agent waters searching for his last opportunity to win a championship (assuming of course he doesn’t win one this season or next). That means the White Sox will probably only get him for a year and a half. Is a year and a half of Halladay worth giving up Ramirez, Danks and two decent prospects for X amount of years?

      It might be, but that’s a steep price. Kenny Williams would absolutely have to feel that Halladay makes the Sox legitimate World Series contenders to give up multiple pieces. If he doesn’t fully believe that Halladay gets them to the WS, then Williams needs to continue his rebuilding plan with the core he has.

      MLB

      MLB Trade Rumors: Lee, Dye, Atkins & Sanchez

      June 30, 2009 /

      – After trading Mark DeRosa to the Cardinals over the weekend, many speculate that the Indians could be setting up for a fire sale soon and would look to deal ace Cliff Lee. But according to MLB.con’s Anthony Castrovince, the Tribe aren’t keen on dealing Lee, who the club has an $8 million option with a $1 million buyout option on in 2010. Cleveland might be inclined to part with Lee if the right deal comes along, but they’re not going to just give the ace of their staff away because they’re out of contention this season.

      – Garrett Atkins started at third base for the Rockies on Monday and while manager Jim Tracy said it’s because of his hot bat, ESPN’s Buster Onley believes the club is trying to drum up more trade interest for the 29-year old by getting him on the field. Colorado is in need of some bullpen help and already have Ian Stewart to man the hot corner if they’re successful in trading Atkins.

      – The Giants seem to be heating up their pursuit for White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye, who would have to waive his no-trade clause if Chicago were to work out any deal involving him. San Fran, who leads the NL Wild Card race by a game and a half over the Rockies, are desperate for a middle-of-the-order bat and would love to put a package together to acquire a hitter with some pop.

      – Speaking of the Giants, the club would seemingly love to trade former starter Jonathan Sanchez now that they have found a replacement for him in the rotation in 26-year old Ryan Sadowski, who pitched masterfully in his big league debut against the Brewers on Sunday. The problem is that Sanchez’s trade value has never been lower as he’s struggled with his command all season and has been demoted to the bullpen. Still, he was once viewed as a potential No. 3 behind Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain in the Giants’ rotation, so some team may still be intrigued by his potential.

      – The Mets are apparently reluctant to part with reliever Bobby Parnell according to the New York Daily News.

      MLB

      Team by team MLB draft rankings: Best drafts of the last 10 years

      June 9, 2009 /

      With the 2009 MLB Draft set to kickoff at 6:00 ET tonight on the MLB Network, SI.com did a cool feature in which they rated how each club has fared over the past 10 years when it comes to the draft.

      The Brewers were rated number one and it’s hard to argue with the ranking after looking at the names Milwaukee has drafted over the years: Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, J.J. Hardy, Manny Parra, Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo. Amazingly, this club also drafted Hunter Pence (Astros), but couldn’t sign him.

      The Red Sox were rated No. 2, with Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester and Manny Delcarmen leading the way, but the site left off a glaring omission: Jacoby Ellsbury. The Rays actually drafted Ellsbury in the 2002 draft, but never signed him. The Sox then nabbed him with the 23rd overall pick in 2005 and he’s currently their starting centerfielder.

      Speaking of the Rays, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tampa ranked higher than No. 4 in the next couple of years. Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, James Shields, Andy Sonnanstine and David Price are just some of the names they’ve drafted in the past 10 years. Don’t forget that they were the team that also drafted Josh Hamilton before he got injured and then became the poster child of what not to do when you’re an inspiring ballplayer with loads of free time on your hands.

      You look at a club like the Nationals ranked No. 8 and you wonder why they’ve been so awful over the years despite drafting so well. Then you realized they dealt Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips all in the same trade for Bartolo Colon and it all starts to make sense.

      If you’re wondering whom SI had ranked last, it was the Astros; only Hunter Pence was worth noting of the players Houston drafted the past 10 years. The White Sox were second to last, although if Josh Fields, Chris Getz, Clayton Richard and Gordon Beckham develop like the club hopes, I highly doubt Chicago will be ranked that low again if SI does another ranking like this in the next couple of years.

      MLB

      White Sox call up top prospect Gordon Beckham

      June 4, 2009 /

      If you don’t hear from any White Sox fans today, it’s because they’re currently worshiping the baseball gods after the Chi-Sox recalled top prospect Gordon Beckham from Triple-A Charlotte and designated Wilson Betemit for assignment (which could be just as big of a move for fans as the call up of Beckham was).

      Beckham was the eighth overall selection of the ’08 MLB Draft and has been on the fast track to the big leagues ever since. He was promoted to Triple A on May 27 and now he’ll make his major league debut tonight in Chicago against the A’s.

      Baseball America has Beckham rated as the 20th best prospect in baseball at age 22. He can play second, third and short, but he’ll see most of his time at third while batting anywhere 7 through 9 in the order. He’s your typical line drive hitter, although he has good power given his size (6’0”, 185 pounds) and has displayed good instincts on the base paths.

      Every time a top prospect gets called up before spending a fair amount of time in the minors, people are always going to question whether or not he got enough seasoning. But Beckham did play collegiality at Georgia and was crushing the ball in Triple A. Baseball is also reverting back into a young player’s game and prospects like Beckham are the future. Here’s hoping he plays well.

      Fantasy Spin: If you’re in a keeper league, Beckham is worth taking a flier on. He’s considered an impact prospect and the Sox didn’t call him up because of an injury – they called him up in hopes that he can produce right away. If you have a spot on your roster, add him.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Peavy declines trade deal to White Sox

      May 22, 2009 /

      It looks like the White Sox won’t be getting the pitching help they need after all.

      The White Sox were able to strike a deal with the Padres for ace Jake Peavy, but Peavy exercised his no-trade clause to officially veto the deal before it could be completed. Peavy cited his desire to remain in San Diego as the main reason he nixed the trade, but many believe he doesn’t want to leave the National League either.

      The conspiracy theorist in me questions whether or not this was a move to wake up the Cubs, who were hot after Peavy in the offseason but eventually walked away from the negotiation table with the Padres. Did San Diego GM Kevin Towers pursue a deal with the White Sox in an attempt to get the Cubs back into trade negotiations?

      Think about it, if Towers knew that Peavy would never agree to join an American League team, then he could pursue a deal with the White Sox to piss Cub fans off and maybe get GM Jim Hendry to come back to the negotiation table. The trade attempt would also show the Cubs that Peavy is still available.

      Again, this is just speculation on my part and my attempt to think outside of the box. The deal with the Sox could have very well been legit and had absolutely nothing to do with the Cubs. But if Towers has his eye on a prospect or two in the Cubs’ farm system, wouldn’t it be sly of him to use the White Sox as patsies to get the Cubs back into negotiations?

      And isn’t it ironic that the day before Peavy rejects a trade to join the White Sox, the Cubs are in town for a three game set with the Padres?

      MLB

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