It’s officially the off-season now, and it is not a moment too soon. October is such a dead period for baseball. Unless you’re lucky enough for your team to be in the playoffs. The Chicago White Sox off-season has already started with the resigning/firing of Ozzie Guillen. Which was followed by the hiring of the greatest manager of all-time, Robin Ventura. He is undefeated at every level he’s ever managed!
The White Sox will/should likely be selling. I’m not one who comes up with trade ideas, because frankly nothing annoys me more than hypothetical trade scenarios. Uhh… uhh… I think the Sox should trade Rios to the Yankees for Brett Gardner. Yes, brilliant idea! That has absolutely any conceivable common sense thought to it. So, I will just list the three players who I don’t expect to be back, and most likely destination.
Mark Buehrle – St. Louis Cardinals
Fresh off their World Championship, Buehrle will finally go to his boyhood team. This is going to take some creativity on the Cardinals part. Considering that they HAVE to re-sign Albert Pujols. I’m going to assume the Cardinals will attempt to trade Matt Holliday. Holliday turned into a goat in the playoffs, and is making way to much money for the smallish market Cardinals. Holliday would have TONS of interested teams trying to acquire the 5-win guaranteed player. While trading Holliday, it allows Pujols to sign say 7-year 175 million dollar deal, and Buehrle will take a short 2-year 18M deal. It’s White Sox, Cardinals, or retirement for Buehrle. Out of those three, Cardinals just seem most logical at this point.
John Danks – New York Yankees
John Danks is my favorite White Sox pitcher, and has been since his abysmal rookie year. I have no real reason why I love Danks so much. He is a very good pitcher, and his performance in #163 against the Twins is never talked about enough. Unfortunately, the Sox are stuck between a rock and a hard place with Danks. He is set to get a big raise in arbitration, and for a team looking to cut some payroll, Danks is a very logical trade piece. The rotation is pretty crowded as is. Assuming no other moves are made in the rotation, it will look like Floyd-Peavy-Humber-Sale-?. That ? could be filled by a wide variety of pitcher, which includes Zach Stewart, Dylan Axelrod, or a cheap FA signing.
The New York Yankees have deep pockets and a pretty good farm system. I have to assume that Cashman isn’t going to sit on his hands and expect years out of Colon and Garcia like he had this year. Danks slides in PERFECTLY behind Ivan Nova in the 3-spot in the Yankees rotation, and won’t cost them the 85M+ signing C.J. Wilson. I love you Johnny Danks, but I’d be surprised if the White Sox don’t move him while his stock is as high as it is.
Carlos Quentin - Colorado Rockies/Atlanta Braves
In a case very similar to Danks, Carlos Quentin is set to get a hefty raise in arbitration. A man who has battled with injuries and inconsitencies since his epic 2008 season. Quentin is also an odd man out for the 2012 White Sox. The White Sox need to play Davan Viciedo to see if the kid has it. Plus, Alejandro de Aza has to be in the starting line-up next year based on defense alone. Outside of Carlos Gonzalez, the Rockies have no sure fire production in the outfield. Seth Smith is a quality player, but a platoon bat. And Dexter Fowler is pure garbage. Quentin in Coors field should be an offensive juggernaut. However, his defense in the spacious outfield would be on a Brad Hawpe level of awfulness. I included the Braves based on last year’s interest and rumored deal. Braves have a surplus of arms like always, and could use better pop in LF than Martin Prado.
I’m sure Kenny Williams doesn’t really want to lose these three pieces, but given the state of the ballclub, it’s hard to believe he can do much else. If he held a gun to the head of a GM saying take Alex Rios, that GM would say shoot me instead. There is little flexibility for 2012. The White Sox need to be creative and smart for once. Trade your best pieces while you can. Sure, it’s going to be rough for a little while, but sure is better than another 100M .500 team.
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