Official White Sox 2012 Off Season Thread

[soxguy1]

Perhaps. But-

Four rival executives name Gordon Beckham, Alejandro De Aza, Gavin Floyd and Dayan Viciedo as players the White Sox would be open to trading, reports Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com. If the Sox were looking for salary relief, two executives say that trading Alex Rios and the $26MM remaining on his contract will be much easier after Rios' strong 2012 season, though neither exec is certain that Rios is available.
Read more at http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/chicag...qWRKxu4AhR0.99

26 million over 2 years for a guy who 2 of the last 3 years has been very effective is a much easier pill to swallow than some of the contracts that FAs are going to get.

i.e. Swisher is gonna get 3-5 years and between 45 and 100 million depending on the years. The Yankees already said their not gonna do that. So 2/26 for Rios might sound alot better. The Mariners were reported as saying they might be in on Hamilton if the price drops to 80 million. Thats not gonna happen so again Rios might sound like a really good option. Over the last three years total, Rios has been better that Ludwick and now Ludwick wants a bigger deal than the Reds would have to pay Rios.

Just some examples why i think Rios might be a better trade chip than you think. Its all about perspective. Rios's deal alone might seem excessive, but you have to compare it to other options.

[soxguy1]

Dan Hayes:

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Rick Hahn reiterated Friday morning he wants free agent third baseman Kevin Youkilis to return to the White Sox.

The White Sox general manager noted his preference for Youkilis and discussed several other topics before he departed the GM meetings on his way home to Chicago after a busy week in the Southwest.

While he acknowledged the team has internal options -- though a team source indicated Dayan Viciedo returning to third base from the outfield is less than ideal -- Hahn signaled he has also explored several external solutions.

Hahn plans to continue discussions with Youkilis’ agent, Joe Bick, as well as further explore potential trades.

Youkilis, who had 15 homers and 46 RBIs after he came over in a June 24 trade from the Boston Red Sox, is the top third baseman available on the free agent market and could command a deal out of the club’s price range.

“There’s obviously external options in the free agent market, such as Youkilis, who we’ve made no secret about and continue to have interest in,” Hahn said. “We’ll continue to have dialogue with and there’s a handful of trade ideas that we’re bandying about here.”

Hahn’s comments arrived one day after four other MLB executives said they believe the club is open to dealing Viciedo, Gordon Beckham, Alejandro De Aza and Gavin Floyd in order to fill its needs.

Hahn believes he and his front office successfully laid the groundwork for several avenues the past few days and plans to take time to evaluate them. Just which direction the White Sox will go to fill the vacancy is up in the air with Hahn suggesting Thursday the South Siders could be involved in a potential three-way trade or none at all.

Those revelations arrived at the end of a week that began in Glendale, Ariz. as Hahn, executive vice president of baseball operations Kenny Williams, owner Jerry Reinsdorf and others held organizational meetings from Saturday through Monday.

Though he felt his 12 years alongside Williams has him prepared for his new title, Hahn, who was named GM on Oct. 26, admits there are still some aspects which have required an adjustment.

“The last two weeks has been a little bit of a blur,” Hahn said. “Kenny had said over the years ‘You never really know what it’s like until you’re sitting there and you’re the one that has to make the final decision on a trade and how that feels.’ And obviously I’ve had friends from other clubs who have moved up to the GM role and heard from them about how the transition is difficult to describe until you’re actually sitting there and actually doing it. I’m not shocked by it, but I get what they’re saying now.”

So how long might it be before Hahn pulls the trigger on a deal with significant impact on the 25-man roster? Perhaps one isn’t too far down the road, though Hahn said he’s still not certain he wants to break up what could be a strong 2013 starting rotation by trading away Floyd or another starter.

“There’s no magic timing, but certainly it’s conceivable something happens in the coming weeks,” Hahn said. “Although we have pitching depth, and that makes us somewhat popular within the game as a potential trade partner, we’re only going to use that if we feel like we aren’t compromising our ability to compete in ’13.”

CSNChicago.com’s Patrick Mooney contributed to this story.

http://www.sportsoverdose.com/mlb/chicago-white-sox

This could be a sign that the Sox might look to trade Rios and keep Floyd. Maybe. By trading Rios, the sox could then afford to keep Floyd and sign Youk. It is possible that by keeping Floyd for the year, he could have a compensation draft pick connected to him next year. And they're are more available OFers available than third baseman or quality starting pitchers.

[sager729]

I dont know why but I have soured on Youk. Unless it is a 1 year deal for sounds $8m-9m.

[sager729]

Plus the Sox arent going to offer Floyd $13 million for one year to get compensation.

[Chitown Sparty]

if Floyd is on a one year deal and they are out of it come August they could move him, assuming he is near his career norms, the return wouldn't be huge, but a contender would give up something of note to get him for a stretch run

[soxguy1]

I dont know why but I have soured on Youk. Unless it is a 1 year deal for sounds $8m-9m.

I kind of have as well. Not that I think he'd be a bad guy to have, but i think there other possibilities out there that are better options. I'd be ok with one year and a vesting option as long as they address the need for a 3rd baseman with a prospect who needs another year of seasoning like Flores or Luis Jimenz.

[sager729]

Yeah I don't want Jiminez, he is a terrible fielder. I would rather move Viciedo to third and find an OF. Jiminez's FP% is something like .932 in the minors.

Flores might be a good option but what do the Sox give up?

I wish Saladino would have continued to develop with his power, he would have been a good 3B prospect.

[sager729]

What about Rios and $2M to the Braves for Randall Delgado?

Rios is a better overall player than Nick Swisher. Plus it looks as if the Braves are willing to spend the money to get Swish, Rios will be cheaper and just as if not better than Swish.

[sager729]

I mean they were willing to trade Delgado for Maholm at threw deadline and now they are in need of an OF.

[tmic13]

Sources: Hunter prefers to play every day. Ten teams have contacted him, including #Dodgers, #Tigers, #WhiteSox, #Rangers, #Mariners.

[soxguy1]

I just read the same thing about Hunter from another source. This definitely means the sox are shopping Viciedo and maybe Rios.

[cubbiefan_est88]

I mean they were willing to trade Delgado for Maholm at threw deadline and now they are in need of an OF.

Dempster...not maholm.

[sager729]

Yeah I messed that up I just read it and realized that.

[cubbiefan_est88]

I wish we got him for maholm. Lol

[sager729]

What about Floyd to the O's for one of Chris Tillman/Jake Arrieta/Brian Matusz and Jonathan Schoop? I am throwing ideas out there so we have some discussion.