Hello again, everybody! It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to really talk about the Sox in-depth on here, so let's get down to business and make up for lost time, huh? I have missed quite a bit of their transactions this winter since the Vizquel signing back in November, so let's recap the Sox's offseason so far, starting with their most recent moves.
Arbitration Sensations
Just yesterday, it was announced that left-handed starter John Danks avoided arbitration, signing a one-year contract worth $3.45 million. Danks was the final player in what ended up being a metaphorical game-winning grand-slam for the Sox in the game of arbitration, as they locked up all four of their arbitration-eligible players (Danks, reliever Tony Pena, Carlos Quentin and Bobby Jenks). While Danks and Quentin were virtual no-brainers for the Sox to lock up (Quentin signed a one-year, $3.2 million deal himself), Jenks was possibly the most surprising signing of them all.
When the Sox signed reliever J.J. Putz to a one-year deal worth three million dollars back in December, it seemed as if Jenks' days on the South Side were numbered. After all, Jenks appeared to be heading into arbitration at full-steam, which prompted rumors that the Sox might have looked into trading him during some point this offseason. However, the Sox have not gone to arbitration with a player since Keith Foulke in 2001, and in recent years, owner Jerry Reinsdorf has been willing to spend a considerable amount of money on players he feels are worth it. This time would be no different, as the Sox inked Jenks to a one-year, $7.5 million deal for the 2010 season. Now that the cloud of uncertainty around Jenks has cleared, the Sox can look forward to the prospect of another solid bullpen for 2010, as Jenks, Putz and Thornton will hopefully prove to be an effective trio. Their presence during the last three innings of a game will effectively shorten it, and when you combine them with a starting rotation that will feature Jake Peavy, Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd and John Danks, their pitching staff will as formidable as ever this year.
Outfield Additions
In the field, the Sox would acquire two new outfielders this offseason, one via trade and the other through free agency. Andruw Jones- who was once the star center fielder for the Atlanta Braves- signed a one year minor-league deal worth $500,000 on November 25, with the potential to earn $1 million if he performs well enough. A couple of weeks later on December 15, the Sox would acquire center fielder Juan Pierre in a trade with the Dodgers, sending two players to be named later to Los Angeles in exchange for him. The Sox have also agreed to pay part of his contract as well, as Pierre will receive $3 million from the Sox in 2010 and $5 million in 2011. While I believe that both of these deals were pretty good for the Sox, I especially liked the Jones acquisition in particular, because it came at a dirt-cheap cost, and it gives the Sox some flexibility in the outfield, and the DH hole, provided that he becomes remotely decent at the plate this year. While he is certainly not my number one option as a DH/outfielder, he is a good insurance policy for them if they cannot land a DH in free agency, or if someone in the outfield gets hurt this season.
As for the Pierre acquisition, I am all for it; however, getting him still raised some questions for me, though. Scott Podsednik, in his return to Chicago last year, put together a fine season in the lead-off spot, as he hit a team-best .304, with a modest .353 OBP and 30 steals in 132 games with the club. These numbers are pretty solid for your lead-off hitter. Well, when the Sox let "Pods" walk after the season and acquired Pierre to take his place, I told myself: "They're getting the same player!" How so? Well, for starters, Pierre will usually hit for around the same average as Podsednik will, as evidenced in the four point difference in their averages last year (Pierre- .308, Podsednik- .304). Also, they will steal roughly the same amount of bases (they both had 30 steals), score just as many runs (Pierre- 57, Podsednik- 75; Pods was the beneficiary of a slightly better offense), and feature the same kind of fielding in the outfield (below-average glove, weak arm). Comparatively speaking, the Royals would end up signing Pods to a one-year deal worth $1.75 million, which the Sox could have easily given him, considering that they're paying Pierre $3 million this year to do the same thing!
I would understand the Sox's motives behind this if Pierre was much younger than Podsednik. But he's not! Podsednik will be 34 in March, while Pierre will be 33 in August. Oh well, perhaps I am just being too sentimental with Pods, seeing that he was one of the key members of the 2005 championship team. My hope is that Pierre will provide the same kind of spark and excitement from the lead-off spot, and that he will be just as productive as Pods was in '05, if not, better.
A Growing Concern
In spite of all of these transactions, the Sox are still in need of a legitimate DH as Spring Training draws closer. Their preference for a DH who can play the field has been a puzzling one, at least for me. General Manager Kenny Williams had to know what he had in mind for this offseason as the 2009 season was coming to a close, and he had to have at least an idea of who would likely be available in the free agent market. If it was in his shopping list to have a DH who could also play the field, then why on earth did he not at least try to bring back Jermaine Dye? While I know that Dye had a sub-par second-half last year, he still finished with some solid numbers, hitting 27 home runs while driving in 81. Since it was pretty much a given that the Sox were not going to go after Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, that relegated them to the second-tier of available DHs in free agency. They were really pursuing Hideki Matsui aggressively at one point, before ultimately losing out to the Angels in that chase.
Why on earth would you rather have Matsui instead of Dye? "J.D." will hit for roughly the same average, will drive in more runs and hit more homers than Matsui. Also, Dye is more more capable of playing an adequate right field whenever necessary, and he would not be the defensive liability that Matsui would be. So why would the Sox let Dye go, when he still has probably two more good seasons in him as a DH/outfielder?
Now that Matsui is off of the market, and Dye won't be eligible to re-join the Sox until May 1 (since they failed to re-sign him during the allotted negotiating period immediately after the season), the Sox are now stuck with two options: they can either take a gamble with what they already have heading into Spring Training, or they can possibly entertain the idea of bringing back Jim Thome to fill the DH void. It is not out of the realm of possibility that they could do this; Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Heyman hinted at this possibility just the other day on MLB Network's "Hot Stove" program, and, in my opinion, bringing the big man back is not such a bad idea (considering the situation they are in at this point). Trading him to the Dodgers back in August gives the Sox a loophole they never would have had if he would have finished the season in Chicago; they no longer have to wait until May 1 to sign him, and they can also bring him back at less than half of the cost of his previous contract (basically meaning that they can get him at a discount).
Plus, we all know that Thome can still mash, and that is all the Sox need for him to do for at least one more year. What is even better is the fact that if Jones ends up panning out, the Sox could potentially platoon Jones and Thome at DH, having Thome hit against righties and Jones against lefties. I know that this idea sounds goofy, but if they do sign Thome and if Jones becomes a major-league player again, it is what they will likely have to do.
Well, to sum things up, it was just another "wheeling-and-dealing" kind of offseason for Kenny Williams and the White Sox, one that is likely not over yet if they decide to go after a DH. Even though I do not exactly agree with every move Williams makes, I do appreciate the fact that he is an aggressive GM that will do all he can to try to assemble and maintain a championship-caliber team. It is also nice to have an owner who is more than willing to spend the bucks to make Williams' vision become a reality as well. When you have a pair like those two, whose primary goal is to win another championship, the offseason will always be an interesting one for Sox fans.
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