posted on Monday, December 01, 2008 2:29 AM
by
Jim
Arbitration day; catching up on Dye rumors
Today marks the arbitration deadline, and
the White Sox's plans seem to be fairly predictable: Offer arbitration to Orlando Cabrera, and pass on everybody else (Ken Griffey Jr., Juan Uribe, Joe Crede, Toby Hall, Horacio Ramirez.
Barring Cabrera accepting it -- and it's hard to imagine a more unlikely scenario unless Cabrera is willing to sacrifice himself to annoy the organization and those around it even more -- that officially makes the Cabrera-Jon Garland trade an unqualified success. The promise of two draft picks instead of one tipped the scales in the Sox's favor, and it's good to see it come to fruition.
By the way, it's going to be fascinating to see who performs better next year -- Wilson Betemit or Juan Uribe. Uribe's due for a pay cut while Betemit hits the arbitration circuit, so the costs aren't going to be that different for two very similar ballplayers.
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That will be just one of a few bonus and possibly unwelcome ramifications of the Nick Swisher trade. Another is the fate of Jermaine Dye,
whose name has surfaced in a few trade rumors this weekend.
Dye
has been linked most strongly to the Reds:
"I'm not going to comment. But we have talked to the White Sox about some players. Nothing is close."
The
way tampering rules work, Jocketty cannot say he's pursuing Dye. But in
the case of San Diego shortstop Khalil Greene, Jocketty was comfortable
shooting down the rumor.
Mark Gonzalez says a possible deal with Cincinnati
is complicated by financial matters, whatever that means. Joining the Reds in the Dye rumors are
the Braves, and the Phillies, Rays and Mets
have been identified as fits.
I'm having a hard time figuring out how pretty Kenny Williams is sitting right now. Dye should be attractive, because his $11.5 million salary is not much of a commitment in a bad economy for what could be near-elite production. But considering how much Williams likes cost certainty, I can't imagine this being that comfortable a situation.
In
his latest mailbag, Scott Merkin mentions a Carlos Quentin-type trade as a way to replace Dye if he's sent elsewhere. Two red flags:
- If Williams could acquire young talent that easily, the Sox wouldn't be this old.
- Quentin was acquired as a third outfielder at most for 2008.
The Sox suffered in 2006 and 2007 from having Dye and little else in the outfield. I don't think Williams would put himself in the same situation with Quentin and a hodgepodge of one- and two-tool "talents," so I wonder if Williams might try making a move to shore up a corner spot for the next few years
before trading Dye.
That's essentially what happened with the Quentin deal -- he was acquired a month before the Swisher trade as long-term insurance. It just so happened that he contributed sooner than everybody expected, and to a far greater extent.