NCsoxfan

You guys seem to be putting a halo on Maybin. Obviously, he could be a star or be a bust. Moreover, to say that Fields could become an All-Star in a few years would not be a stretch.

How is this idea to get a CF? Trade Fields and Owens for Cameron Maybin... Florida still needs a 3B and Fields fits the bill. We can resign Crede and have a young CF that can come back and torture Detroit in the division...

So I'm going to take Sizemore, A-Rod and Martin... thanks for all the advice. The gamble is that Sizemore can provide better total numbers on an average year than Fielder who may not hit 50hrs every year.

Regarding Cano vs Martin, Martin has the edge with steals but was last year a career year for him? Good fantasy catchers are hard to find. On the other side, Cano could just be coming into his own and could hit .330 20hrs 80 rbis.... I dont quite get why cano doesnt have many steals either

5x5 League with 10 teams total... I can keep 3 players, two from the top 100 and 1 outside the top 100... That being said, Martin and Cano are just outside the top 100, so I have a decision regarding who to keep

I need help! Out of these players I can keep two: -Arod -Sizemore -Prince Fielder -Maggs Out of these two, I can keep one: -Russell Martin -Robinson Cano What would you guys do?

IMO it would be ridiculous to give up that much

Let's think about this for a moment. Did KW act too quickly in trading Garland and signing Linebrink? It seems like he now only has half of his plan completed. Would he of traded Garland for an established player if he knew he would wiff on Torii and Miggy? My guess is no. If he knew these events were to unfold, would the Sox have made a decision to rebuild? Does anyone else think KW is half way into a plan that is not feasible anymore?

He's probably going to SF for either Cain/Linecum

Maybe a three way deal like this: To Sox: Cabrera To Yankees: Jenks To Marlins: Fields, Melky/Hughes, other prospects

We assume "they" are "there" This guy could be sitting up in the news room making it up (unlikely, but possible)

I think if it goes down, IF, we would give up something like this: -Fields -Danks/Gio -DLS -Sweeney -A lower tiered prospect

The way I look at it is that M-Cab is ALREADY a STAR. Not Fields, not Gio, not DLS, not Danks, none of these guys are stars right now, and there is a chance not one of them will be a star.

Add the fact that the Angels seem to be out of it make it look like this has a REAL chance of going down: 4:49 p.m., from Jayson Stark • The Twins and Angels continue to talk about a Johan Santana trade. Many of the same players mentioned in the Miguel Cabrera sweepstakes -- Howie Kendrick, Brandan Wood, Nick Adenhart, and possibly Jeff Mathis or Reggie Willits -- would be included in a package for Santana. • It is believed that the Angels haven't talked with the Marlins since last night, and Miguel Cabrera is off their radar screen -- at least for now.

4:49 p.m., from Jayson Stark • The Twins and Angels continue to talk about a Johan Santana trade. Many of the same players mentioned in the Miguel Cabrera sweepstakes -- Howie Kendrick, Brandan Wood, Nick Adenhart, and possibly Jeff Mathis or Reggie Willits -- would be included in a package for Santana. • It is believed that the Angels haven't talked with the Marlins since last night, and Miguel Cabrera is off their radar screen -- at least for now. This should bode well for the Sox as well... Get the Angels out of the picture

Phil Rogers Blog: NASHVILLE -- You want a big baseball headline involving one of the Chicago team's? Here's your best bet: "White Sox nab Miguel Cabrera," with the subhead "Deplete weak farm system even further." When I first heard the White Sox connected to Cabrera a couple weeks ago, the idea seemed almost nonsensical. But not so anymore, not given the inability to land a big-ticket center fielder, the acquisition of a low-salary, high-ceiling left fielder and the glow that Ozzie Guillen has in his eyes when he talks about Cabrera, whom he coached in Florida and considers a good friend. Assuming the Florida Marlins are interested in Josh Fields (and they should be if they're trading their third baseman), then the Sox and the Marlins have the framework to put together one of the deals that Kenny Williams has made into his signature -- that is, a tomorrow-for-today move in which he ships prospects for a big reputation veteran. Say the White Sox could get Cabrera for Fields, John Danks (or somebody from a mix including minor-leaguers Fautino de los Santos, Gio Gonzalez and Lance Broadway), Charlie Haeger (or Adam Russell), Brian Anderson (or Ryan Sweeney) and one of their high-ceiling outfielders in the low minors, most likely Jose Martinez? That's a 5-for-1 deal, if you're counting -- the type you have to put together to get a stud when you don't have a Jacoby Ellsbury or Phil Hughes to put into trade talks. But this one might be palatable for the White Sox because only a couple of the guys mentioned figure on the Opening Day roster in 2008, and Cabrera is somehow only 24 years old and could be signed to a monster long-term deal to replace Paul Konerko as a cornerstone of the lineup after 2010, when Konerko's contract expires. This assumes, of course, that Guillen is right when he says the incredibly talented Cabrera has turned a corner in terms of developing a serious approach in terms of his conditioning and responsibility to the game. There's no way you bother with him if you don't trust Guillen's read on that. But consider what the Sox lineup could look like if they took the money that has been earmarked for a center fielder and put it into Cabrera, who earned $7.4 million last season and has two arbitration years left before free agency: 1. Jerry Owens, CF. 2. Orlando Cabrera, SS. 3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B. 4. Jim Thome, DH. 5. Paul Konerko, 1B. 6. Jermaine Dye, RF. 7. Carlos Quentin/Pablo Ozuna, LF. 8. A.J. Pierzynski, C. 9. Danny Richar/Chris Getz, 2B. That doesn't look half bad, even if you still have some potential issues at three positions (CF, LF, 2B). You'll note that neither Joe Crede nor Juan Uribe are listed there, so a part of Williams' responsibility becomes to find a taker for them. That doesn't figure to be easily done, which is why there has been some mention of the White Sox non-tendering Crede if they haven't traded him by the Dec. 12 deadline to offer contracts. It's unclear how much talking Williams has done with Florida GM Larry Beinfest, who is well respected for always getting value for the players he deals. But this is a scenario that could develop and move quickly if Williams decides that he's not going to get Kosuke Fukudome and isn't comfortable making major commitments to Aaron Rowand (at least five years) or Andruw Jones (at least four years). The Detroit Tigers have stepped into the picture, and the last thing the Sox need is for Cabrera to go to a division rival that already has Magglio Ordonez, Ivan Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Guillen, Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco. 2. Omar Infante, we probably knew ye. The Cubs' deal to send Will Ohman and Infante to Atlanta for 22-year-old right-hander Jose Ascanio -- announced Tuesday morning -- adds to Jim Hendry's stable of pitchers and suggests that Hendry is now comfortable with Ronny Cedeno in the backup shortstop-center field role that had been laid out after Infante was acquired from Detroit for Jacque Jones. Ascanio pitched well for the Braves late last season after spending most of the year in Double-A. He's a hard thrower with an idea where the ball's going but didn't make the Braves' Top Ten prospects list recently published by Baseball America. Nor was he among the Southern League's top 20 prospects, as ranked by BA. Regardless he's a kid with a higher ceiling than Ohman or Infante, who fill holes for the Braves. 3. Sam Fuld probably hasn't gotten enough attention when considering the Cubs' future. He's not the best looking prospect in terms of his tools, but Mesa Solar Sox manager Dave Clark got it right when he said that Fuld "plays the game like it's supposed to be played." Fuld spent most of last season at Double-A but made such a good impression on Lou Piniella in September that he was considered for the playoff roster, if only as a pinch runner and defensive replacement (the Felix Pie role). He went to the Arizona Fall League instead of the playoffs, however, and tore up a collection of pitching prospects. He was named AFL MVP after hitting .402 and leading the league in hits (43), doubles (11), total bases (67) and both on-base percentage (.492) and slugging percentage (.626). While Pie is still considered the Cubs' first option to open 2008 in center, Fuld could very well beat him out for the job next spring. "He's ready to go out there in spring training lined up next to Pie and compete to play center field,'' GM Jim Hendry said of Fuld. "He's a baseball player. He can run. He's a tremendous defensive player. I'm certainly not going to count him out.'' 4. Nothing's really new on the Johan Santana front, with the Yankees and Red Sox still playing a little game of chicken with each other to see if either can pry Santana away from the Twins. A lot of people are starting to say Minnesota is going to hang onto him, but I'd still bet on him being traded to one of the two AL East powers. 5. The White Sox farm system is a candidate to be ranked 29th among the 30 in baseball when Baseball America gets around to issuing its off-season ratings. Only Houston is considered worse, and one editor for BA joked that Williams might be making a run for 30 by dealing Chris Carter to Arizona for Quentin. Carter had tentatively been listed as the White Sox's sixth best prospect in the BA rankings, which will run in a future issue. With his ability to hit for power (25 homers, 93 RBIs in 126 games at low-A Kannapolis last season), he was considered the organization's best hitting prospect when he was dealt. The same was true for outfielder Aaron Cunningham when Williams traded him to the Diamondbacks for Richar last summer. The acquisition of Quentin also will cost the Sox left-hander Heath Phillips, who was designated for assignment to clear roster space. I think the Sox made a mistake by not using September (even August) to properly audition the likes of Phillips and Broadway -- they were promoted but Broadway made only one start, and Phillips none -- but Williams simply doesn't think that Phillips' success in Triple-A translates to the big leagues. Williams says he would have traded him at some point in the last two years if there was interest elsewhere, but other teams apparently agreed with his assessment. We'll find out next spring if that's right because somebody is sure to take a hard look at the 25-year-old Phillips. He was the International League's Pitcher of the Year in 2006 and led the league in wins and innings pitched in '07. He's considered Mark Buehrle Lite because he wins without an overpowering fastball. Don't be surprised if the Dodgers wind up with Phillips, as he grew up around Don Mattingly, who went to Los Angeles with Joe Torre.

How are the Cubs allowed to shell out big contracts with the ownership position in limbo?

You tell me. Is there something we don't know? Would it be worth trading Jenks for this guy?

No, I'd rather spend more money and get Andruw or spend the money at a different position...

^Agree He's probably not going to hit 300 and probably wont hit 30 hrs. Putting aside all the hogwash about chemistry/hustle/grinder, how much is a 30 year old CF worth that is an above average defender and above average hitter with average speed?

I know this is totally below market, but Rowand still seems like he is "worth" maybe a 3 year 25 mil contract... In the next few years I see him being a .280 hitter, 20ish HR's and 75 RBI's, with his defense slowly declining Just think there is NO way he's worth 10mil a year

NASHVILLE -- Kenny Williams looks at the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers and says, "Bring it on." He knows his Chicago White Sox team went 72-90 with a bloated payroll built around veterans signed to long-term contracts, but still thinks he can reclaim the magic that left after the All-Star break in 2005. I'm not sure that he can, not with the Indians and the Tigers in the way. But he's acting as if he's in the National League Central, not the American League Central, and a lot of White Sox fans are probably happy about that. They're not the most patient bunch around. For the second time in six months, Williams has made the kind of move you'd make only if it's really important to compete right now -- that is, trade your best young position player prospect for an older minor-leaguer without such a high ceiling. He did it when he sent outfielder Aaron Cunningham to Arizona for Danny Richar, and he did it again on Monday -- before even actually arriving at the Opryland Hotel for Day 1 of the winter meetings -- by sending Class A first baseman Chris Carter to those same Diamondbacks for corner outfielder Carlos Quentin, who should at least platoon with Jerry Owens in left field next season. Chris Carter is not a household name, I know. But he's the best power-hitting prospect in a system that doesn't have many of them and as such was probably the guy viewed as the eventual replacement for Paul Konerko or Jim Thome. Baseball America had him preliminarily rated as the No. 6 prospect on their Top 10 list, scheduled for publication in a future issue. The five guys listed ahead of him are all pitchers. So, no, the Sox aren't getting Quentin, a .career .230 hitter in 138 big-league games, for nothing. The good news is that you shouldn't judge Quentin by his numbers. He's a former first-round pick with a lot of upside, especially hitting at U.S. Cellular Field. He has played through injuries through his college (Stanford) and pro careers, sometimes to the detriment of his stats. He has enough arm to play right field, so the Sox may eventually consider moving Jermaine Dye across the outfield -- or at least be set with Quentin when Dye finishes his current contract (through 2009 with an option for '10). There was a time when Quentin was one of the most highly rated hitting prospects in the minors, and he might yet prove those projections to be correct. The big loser here is Ryan Sweeney, who should have been ready to take over in the outfield in 2009. He's slipped behind Owens (like him, a left-handed hitter) and now Quentin, which could make him trade bait as Williams tries to fill the remaining hole in his outfield, acquire a backup shortstop and upgrade his bullpen. Phil Rogers article

I see the Sox taking a gamble on a veteran SP coming off of an injury. I think there is too much left to do to gut the farm system on a guy like this...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In one year, Carlos Quentin went from the Arizona Diamondbacks' right fielder for the next decade to a giveaway in a trade. OK, the Diamondbacks received prospect Chris Carter from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Quentin on Monday, and Carter is a 20-year-old with huge power potential. Yet a low-A first baseman, no matter how he projects, seems scant return on a hitter who put up huge numbers across the minor leagues, slugged nine home runs in his first 150 major-league at-bats and only struggled last season, an injury-hampered one. Quentin's exit from Arizona was a given, with Eric Byrnes in left field, Chris Young in center and Justin Upton in right, and perhaps that drove down his market. Still, Carter, a power hitter with excellent plate discipline but a propensity to strike out, is two, maybe three years away, and in a weak National League the Diamondbacks are a starting pitcher away from being West division favorites. Packaging Quentin and Double-A outfielder Carlos Gonzalez could have brought that. Instead, Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes went for potential, as the majority of Arizona's loaded farm system has graduated to the major leagues. Who knows? Carter may mash. Quentin may falter. For now, though, the White Sox have their left fielder of the future while the hole in Arizona's rotation looks as big as ever. Jeff Passan

Lets not get carried away with Bay. His numbers have declined as follows Avg: from 306 to 286 to 247 the last three years SB: from 21 to 11 to 4 (not good when a guy's speed diminishes that much) Walks: from 95 to 102 to 59 HR's and RBI's - down too Need I go on? He turns 30 next year. He would be a big upgrade over our current disaster in LF, but there is NO way he is worth a package of top prospects. Am I missing something here?