The 2010 Major League Baseball trade deadline is quickly approaching with the deadline being its customary date of July 31st on a yearly basis.
I will try and tackle every Major League team as the deadline approaches to see if they will be buyers, sellers or stick to their current roster.
I will be basing my assumptions on the direction the team is going, their record as of the date I post the article, possible roster injuries and so on and so forth.
I will provide the information about each team by division.
Today I will begin my look at the AL Central with the first place Chicago White Sox.
Coming into play today the White Sox hold a record of 53-44, good for a one game lead over the Minnesota Twins.
General manager Kenny Williams, one of the most aggressive deal making GM’s in all of baseball added to his roster of players in the off-season by acquiring himself a lead-off man in the form of Juan Pierre from the Dodgers for pitchers John Ely & Jon Link with the Dodgers also picking up $10.5 million of the $18.5 million remaining on Pierre’s contract.
Williams also acquired Mark Teahen from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Chris Getz & Josh Fields than signed Teahen to a three-year contract extension worth $14 million and picked up J.J. Putz (one-year, $3 million), Omar Vizquel (one-year, $1.375 million), Freddy Garcia (minor league deal) & Andruw Jones (one year, $500,000) via free agency.
With the likes of Jake Peavy ($15 million in 2010), Mark Buehrle ($14 million in 2010), Paul Konerko ($12 million in 2010), Alex Rios ($9.7 million in 2010), Bobby Jenks ($7.5 million in 2010) & AJ Pierzynski ($6.25 million in 2010) all making big money to play baseball this season the White Sox payroll increased to $103,080,000.
The team had high expectations coming into the season as well as stiff competition from the division rival Minnesota Twins & Detroit Tigers.
Unfortunately for the White Sox and their fan base the season got off to a rocky start as the team owned a 22-29 record at the end of May.
With the team in disarray and manager Ozzie Guillen’s job on the line the team turned things around going 31-15 since June 1st.
Paul Konerko (.298, 21HR, 67RBI) has led the team in what could be his final year in a White Sox uniform, Alex Rios (.311, 16HR, 57RBI) has turned things around after a slow start and is producing at a high level & Carlos Quentin (.236, 19HR, 66RBI) has high production numbers despite a low batting average.
The team does possess a formidable starting five of Buehrle (9-8, 3.96ERA), John Danks (10-7, 3.37ERA), Gavin Floyd (5-8, 3.87ERA), Freddy Garcia (9-4, 4.74ERA) & Peavy (7-6, 4.63ERA) who the team lost to a strained right lat muscle. Peavy is expected to be out until the spring of 2011. With Peavy out of action the team has been using top prospect Daniel Hudson (1-1, 6.32ERA) in a starting role.
The White Sox also feature an excellent bullpen that ranks fifth in the AL in team ERA at 3.66 and is anchored by the closer Jenks (1-3, 4.95ERA, 20SV in 22SVO), Putz (5-2, 1.46ERA, 2SV in 3SVO), Scott Linebrink (1-0, 4.78ERA), Tony Pena (3-1, 5.04ERA), Sergio Santos (0-0, 1.80ERA), All-Star Matt Thornton (2-3, 2.58ERA, 5SV in 7SVO) and Erick Threets (0-0, 0.00ERA).
As the trade deadline approaches the White Sox have been very active in talks inquiring about a big bat to add to their team in a designated hitter’s role. The team currently has veteran Mark Kotsay (.220, 6HR, 20RBI) in the role, but could upgrade by adding some thunder.
Williams has been in heavy talks with the Nationals about acquiring slugger Adam Dunn, with nothing moving forward due to Nationals GM Mike Rizzo’s asking price being too high. Dunn (.281AVG, 23HR, 63RBI) is having another big year offensively, but is a liability in both the outfield and at first base.
A rumoured three team deal involving the Nationals, White Sox and Diamondbacks with Dunn coming to Chicago and pitcher Edwin Jackson going to Washington has arisen in the media, although it is all currently speculation.
The White Sox are also being listed as one of the main teams interested in acquiring Prince Fielder from the Milwaukee Brewers. Fielder is seeking “Mark Teixeira money” in the off-season and the Brewers may not be able to afford him. The team does want to keep Fielder, but it may be an impossible scenario, which could force them to trade Fielder at the deadline.
The White Sox are one of the front runners in the Prince Fielder sweepstakes.
The White Sox possess interesting trade pieces to offer as part of a deal for Fielder in Hudson and Cuban third baseman/outfielder Dayan Viciedo (.265AVG, 2HR, 5RBI in 49 at-bats). The teams have also discussed Gordon Beckham (.239AVG, 4HR, 28RBI), who is having a down year, but the White Sox are high on their second baseman and may not want to let him go for what could be a half season rental of Fielder.
Aside from Hudson or Viciedo the White Sox may not have the necessary ammunition required to pull off a big time deal, although catching prospect Tyler Flowers (.220AVG, 16HR, 48RBI @ Triple A Charlotte) is in their system. With the White Sox most likely allowing Pierzynski to walk in the off-season including Flowers in a deal might be a bad move on their behalf.
The team also has outfielder Jordan Danks (.243AVG, 6HR, 32RBI) & third baseman Jon Gilmore (.336AVG, 4HR, 63RBI @ Class A Winston Salem) although neither is drawing much interest from opposing teams.
Williams has been quoted as saying he is confident he will land either Dunn or Fielder at the deadline, but will not turn to the likes of a Russell Branyan or Brad Hawpe option. If the team cannot land a slugger it will focus on going small while looking to improve their bullpen and bench.
It is very apparent that the White Sox want to add a slugger to their offensive attack and Dunn & Fielder are both in the sights of Williams, but does the GM have the goods to get a deal done?
Will the White Sox be able to pull off a trade deadline deal and challenge for the AL Central title once again?
Or will the team decide against making a deal hoping to ride their recent success to the playoff promised land with the Tigers and Twins on their tails?
This is a big decision the White Sox will have to make, let’s see if they can pull the trigger.
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