caulfield12

Daniel Cabrera Tuesday night (12/16) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The game is still in progress as I type this, but Daniel Cabrera's season debut in the Dominican League is already complete. Working on a pitch count, he faced only 14 hitters and allowed eight of them to reach base. The only run charged to him came in the top of the first when Victor Diaz ripped a two-out double to score Melky Cabrera, who'd walked. Overall, Daniel's line on a 'shake the rust off' type night looked like this: 2 1/3 IP 6H 1R 2BB 2K from orioleshangout.com

According to John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus, the Pirates top the list of suitors for Daniel Cabrera. He says the Brewers, Padres, Rangers, Blue Jays, and Nationals are also interested. We learned yesterday that the Blue Jays are interested but haven't made an offer yet. Cabrera's agent has heard from about half the teams in baseball, and one even offered a multiyear deal. mlbtraderumors.com

By not signing with the Dodgers...we're likely to get a second round or sandwich pick, because all the teams interested are between 1-15 in first round, and they can't give up such high draft picks for signing Type A's.

So now it's back down to: A's Royals Braves Blue Jays Indians Twins Orioles (cross off list, just signed Cesar I.) You also have Uribe, Eckstein, Jack Wilson trade possibility...I can't imagine BB would want to give up the draft picks. That was the whole beauty of Furcal for him, Type B compensation. Royals don't appear to have the money unless they move DeJesus or Guillen. Braves could use Escobar there. Blue Jays are in budget-consious mode. Both the Indians (A. Cabrera) and Twins (Punto/Casilla) have much cheaper options available for that position. I'm really intrigued where he will end up going, finally...as dick allen said over and over again, we got pretty lucky.

Young has one of the worst contracts in the game today going forward after 2009...why would the White Sox possibly take on that kind of commitment when they already have Ramirez, unless the Rangers ate at least 60% of it?

Assuming Rafael Furcal’s back is sound and he passes the Atlanta Braves’ physical, the next free agent shortstop to go should be Orlando Cabrera, who is sturdier and plays more often than Furcal, but is three years older and isn’t the same caliber of leadoff hitter Furcal. Nevertheless, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics, losers on Furcal, are likely to shift their attention to Cabrera, an edgy player who quickly wore out his welcome with the Chicago White Sox. The Toronto Blue Jays, who withdrew their interest in Furcal before he agreed to terms with the Braves on Tuesday, probably will be peripheral players on Cabrera. They liked Furcal in large part because of his leadoff skills. The Kansas City Royals also are looking for a shortstop and could make a play for Cabrera, although he might be out of their price range. The Dodgers, however, are most in need of a shortstop, and of Cabrera. Omar Vizquel, still a marvel of conditioning and flexibility at age 41, can field but not hit, making him a one-year stopgap for a team that can’t land – or doesn’t want to land – Cabrera. The only other free-agent shortstop with a decent resume available is David Eckstein, who is more apt to find a job as a second baseman. yahoosports.com

I hope you're talking about Manny Ramirez in LF and not Alexei!!! The last position on the field I would want Alexei to play is either LF or 1B.

First of all, with the market falling dramatically for some of the second tier players, it's not clear that many teams could afford to take on Dye's salary...maybe 8-10 major league teams right now, at most. Second, Uribe couldn't be offered a deal for $1.3 million like Betemit is getting. His salary for this past season was $4.5 million, so the most we COULD possibly cut him down to is $3.6 million in arbitration. However, that would be NO certainty because of the fact that he got the bulk to the playing time after Crede went down, and his agent would want him treated as a starter and not as a utility player in a possible hearing. The arbitrator couldn't/wouldn't choose the lower offer simply because the White Sox didn't see him getting more than 150 at-bats when he's been a regular for pretty much five years here. We could easily end up on the hook for $4.5-5.5 million for Uribe, we wouldn't be able to trade him to another team (look at all the conjecture for the lowly Adam Everett at $1 million plus incentives, or for Jack Wilson) and that $4 million in savings with Betemit (who could certainly figure in a 3B platoon) could be more effectively invested in a starting pitcher or CFer.

I think he did play SS very early in his career....before putting on so much weight and growing into his current frame. This, I suppose, is roughly at the same time he was pitching a little and consistently throwing in the high 80's or low 90's.

The problem is that Taveras just MIGHT be the best option out of all the worst-case scenarios out there. Jerry Owens also has a better than 50/50 shot at not getting the job done or staying healthy. Anderson can't lead off. Wise isn't a CFer. Are you in the lead off with Getz/Lillibridge (2B) and put Anderson at 9th in the order camp?

For the record, KW has already mentioned he expects Nunez to contribute THIS season out of the pen. He has also talked about Jimenez being a "plus" arm and about Link as well. I haven't heard many quotes from KW counting on Russell or Wasserman to do much this season. If he does, then it's a very pleasant surprise. His presence on the roster would also "knock" Poreda/Richard back down to Charlotte if they didn't make it as fifth starter....and I think both of them would be benefitted more from remaining on the major league roster with Cooper and pitching out of the pen ala Buehrle 2000.

FWIW, Garland made $12 million last year and expects to make equal or more money. Remember, he turned down the Angels' arbitration offer, which means he expected he could make a MINIMUM of $9.6 million for one season...I think there will be AT LEAST 2-3 teams out there (like the Mets) willing to outbid us for him.

I also find it quite hard to believe that he had an OPS comparable with Royce Clayton, who I remember as the worst offensive player on the Sox over the last decade...along with catcher Mark Johnson. I still think Uribe is a better defender, even at less than ideal body weight. It's just that Uribe could never have been a leadoff hitter for us this year.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Dec 16, 2008 -> 09:25 PM) I hate Orlando but in his defense he was the best defensive SS in terms of UZR and the 5th best defensive player in baseball by UZR. Throw all that out. What did your EYES tell you from watching him play all season long?

.708 and .660=Royce Clayton OPS for the White Sox over two seasons .705=Orlando Cabrera (and only because of a late charge, he was around .650-.660 for the majority of the season) In no way, shape or form was he worth $10 million in this economy with Alexei Ramirez basically making $1 million per season behind him.

I think another problem with Haeger is holding runners, fwiw. He would be "okay" as a garbage innings pitcher, but we already have Carrasco for that role. Not to mention that whoever loses out for the fifth starter (Poreda/Richard/Marquez) would also seem to be capable of pitching in those situations, like Buehrle in 2000, as a way to get their feet wet and gain confidence. I don't see Haeger as part of any long-term plan, and his upside is pretty limited, so I think you won't see him brought back to the Sox.

Or scary bad. Lots of potential with Poreda and Bailey, but both of them could also be out of baseball in 3 years, too. Buehrle and probably Danks are the closest to "known" quantities at this point. Anything could happen with Floyd, although I'm crossing my fingers he puts up the same numbers as last season. I'd definitely take that...but not counting on it.

Just like my belief to this day that Valentin was a better defender than Royce Clayton. Same type of argument.

I guess it's a pretty good sign of progress with our farm system that neither Marquez nor Ely are Top 10 prospects, and yet are realistically viewed as options for 4/5 starter down the line. Gone are the days of Juan Silverio, Andy Gonzalez, Adam Russell, McCulloch, Broadway, Tracey, Francisco Hernandez, Arnie Munoz, etc. We also have a good group of pitching talent just coming into the system (like Carter and Hudson) that aren't in top 10 either. Link didn't make the cut as well. Same with Nunez, Gilmore and Rodriguez.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 16, 2008 -> 04:43 PM) This makes no sense unless the Braves are going to acquire Peavy. I know one thing, I'd absolutely love to have Escobar and I'd trade Dye straight up for him (simply because I value middle infielders with his ability and upside). And no way is Furcal going to play 2B. Unless Dye agreed to stay there for 2 years or "pre-negotiate" a three year deal, I don't think any team would be so quick to give up one of the best SS prospects in the game for a one year rental, even with the Type A compensation (assuming JD stayed healthy). That and the fact that every team is waiting for that "glut" of outfield FA's to come down from $12-16 million into the $7-10 million range per season in their asking prices, which does make JD quite as much of a bargain as he looked like 6-9 months ago going forward.

The minimum wage in Colombia is closer to $1 USD per hour, fwiw.

Well, the "Big Board" is supposed to be 2-3 years down the line. That said, competition for 6th reliever's position: Link Nunez (KW is really high on this kid) Richard/Poreda (whoever loses out of a starter) Jimenez (Blue Jays) Russell Wasserman 4th/5th starter Marquez, Richard/Poreda, Broadway, Egbert, FA/Trade Lillibridge, Fields, Beckham, Viciedo, Jordan Danks and Flowers are the potential starters (not counting Getz) in our system....with the possible exception of Brandon Allen and MAYBE Shelby, although I see him as a bench/role player at the major league level at this point. Ideally, Lillibridge would beat out Getz for 2B and be the leadoff hitter...although Getz as a 2 hitter would be fine as well, not sure about leading off yet. Either one would be better than Nix IMO. Down the line, though, you have to feel that Beckham is best suited for 2B, both offensively and defensively. Fields, if he can hold off Viciedo and stay healthy, would push Viciedo to LF or 1B/DH down the line...or possibly RF, if they felt his arm made him a better candidate for that position, and Quentin would stay in LF. Flowers, ideally, will mature defensively, although he could replace Konerko or Thome down the line. Allen, Viciedo, Fields and Flowers all could theoretically end up at 1B in 2011. CF continues to be the biggest mystery. Owens, Anderson and Lillibridge would fight it out right now...with Jordan Danks on their heels in 2010 or 2011. That's assuming he doesn't roll the dice/kick the tires on Taveras. I continue to believe that Cabrera/Taveras (or something like that) is much more likely than Abreu and any pitcher costing upwards of $8 million per season. Marquis (with the Cubs eating 60% of his salary) and some combination of Pie OR Fukudome would be an interesting trade to fill two pressing needs for the White Sox right now. Not sure who'd we have to give up, and I think the Cubs would be scared to see Fukudome OR Pie excel on the SouthSide like Jon Garland did after the Karchner trade.

Juan Cruz would cost Type A compensation. No thanks. Actually, many clubs are looking at him as a possible closer going forward.

But are you so confident in Pie that you'd trade Owens and/or Anderson, not sign Taveras, and hand him the starting job in CF? I think I'd rather try Fukudome out of that fishbowl if the Cubs were willing to eat 55-65% of his contract.

Which is probably why he's been overwhelmed with interest and multiple contract offers of $10 million plus over 2-3 years this offseason?