In the wake of
the Chris Carter-for-Carlos Quentin deal, the
reactions are generally favorable:
One exception is
Phil Rogers, who is lukewarm about it:
For the second time in six months, Williams has made
the kind of move you'd make only if it's really important to compete
right now -- that is, trade your best young position player prospect
for an older minor-leaguer without such a high ceiling.
Carter might have a higher ceiling, but Quentin's ceiling isn't all that low, and if he delivers, he gives the Sox a boost in two areas they lack -- on-base percentage and outfield defense.
If anything, Carter will be most missed in my minor-league roundups next season. He and John Shelby were the only position players worth following from Birmingham on down, if you don't count Chris Getz or Micah Schnurstein. It doesn't seem like the Sox have plans for them.
**************************
To make room for Quentin, the Sox had to DFA hefty lefty Heath Phillips.
I liked Phillips, mainly because he did a lot with a little in the White Sox system, but watching him pitch in the majors, it didn't seem like he'd be cut out for pitching in the American League. I thought he might make an interesting throw-in to pitching-starved National League teams like the Pirates or Nationals, but evidently not. Williams could still wrangle a non-prospect out of a team for Phillips, but the timetable will obviously force his hand.
So it won't be a big loss. The bigger question is why Fernando Hernandez was the first to go before the Rule 5 draft, while they're handing out four-year contracts to middle relievers.
The Cheat has some interesting stuff on Hernandez from Baseball America.
Phillips, by the way, is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA in the Mexican League. He hasn't pitched since giving up six runs over 2 2/3 innings Nov. 2.
**************************
Also affected by the deal: Brian Anderson and Ryan Sweeney. Williams
says he still likes them, but at the same time, he's not putting much stock in them.
"We've
given a couple opportunities. By no means does
that mean that these moves we've made in the outfield that we have cast
these guys aside. They're very high on our lists, still. But for today
and right now, we've got to do what we go to do to put the best team on
the field."
There's no point in selling this low on Sweeney, because unless his wrist is going to be a chronic drain on his talent, he can't hit much worse than he did last year. He should get a fair battle against Jerry Owens for the fourth-outfielder spot. Anderson, meanwhile, was
still trying to stamp his own ticket out of town the last we'd heard.
**************************
More teams are piling into the Thunderdome to see which one leaves with Kosuke Fukudome.
Ken Rosenthal reports:NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Cubs are facing significant competition for
their No. 1 target, Japanese free-agent outfielder Kosuke Fukudome. The
Padres have emerged as a serious contender for Fukudome, according to
major-league sources.
The market for Fukudome, 30, is moving quickly, sources say, with the White Sox and Dodgers also showing significant interest.
The Padres are looking at deploying him in center field. If he could handle PETCO, he could cover Comiskey. The Sun-Times' Chris De Luca
hones in on the Chicago angle:
Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome is the object of both teams' desires. [...]
From the Sox' perspective, they love what Fukudome brings to the table,
even if he wouldn't solve their need for a leadoff hitter. He has speed
that manager Ozzie Guillen knows he needs in the middle of his lineup.
His agent isn't Scott Boras -- the key stumbling block in pursuing
free-agent center fielder Andruw Jones. And despite the mutual love
affair with free-agent center fielder Aaron Rowand, the Sox still have
Fukudome higher on their wish list.
Aww, yeeeeeeah. Williams would do well in the Chicago market to pull the rug out from under Jim Hendry, especially since the Cubs appear dead-set on not only an outfielder, but a left-handed outfielder. Matt Murton may
soon be a victim of his own handedness.
Because he can't pitch, the Sox with Fukudome still don't seem to be viable contenders in 2008, but if the Sox manage to make a couple pitchers out of a group that includes John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Gio Gonzalez, Jack Egbert and maybe even Charlie Haeger (who is the forgotten man right now), I don't think 2009 is out of the question.
**************************
Other notes:*Scott Merkin says the Sox aren't going to force a trade of Joe Crede. That makes sense, but I wish the Sox would stop lamenting the absence of Torii Hunter, which Jerry Reinsdorf does halfway through the article. Hunter. Would. Not. Help. Much.
*Crede's not the only third baseman out there, unfortunately.
Dave Van Dyck sizes up Scott Rolen, Miguel Tejada and Pedro Feliz as alternatives for teams looking to make changes at the hot corner.
*If only Miguel Cabrera could trade himself: He likes Ozzie Guillen a lot, so sayeth the Sox manager:
"He'd love to play for me. Miguel to me is like my oldest kid. His wife and my wife are best friends.''*Cool trip idea: Memphis on March 29th, as the
Sox play the Mets in the Civil Rights game. Baseball, then barbecue and blues on Beale Street? Not bad...
*Jon Garland answers a question I wondered about
in his eulogy: Did he ever miss a turn in the rotation?
"The last time I missed a start was when I took a ball off the elbow
from Fred McGriff in 2000," Garland, 28, said, attributing his good
health in large part to his mechanics. "I'd like to say they're pretty
good. They've kept me healthy up to this point, so I'll keep with it."
That makes 205 straight starts by my count. Not bad for a slacker.