White Sox listening to offers for Buehrle

[ozzfest]

The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo reports that the White Sox will listen to offers for Mark Buehrle.

We've heard at one point or another about pretty much all of the White Sox rotation being on the market, as GM Kenny Williams has talked about having to be creative with his roster with the budget stretched to its limit. Buehrle is due $14 million on the last year of his contract, so we can't imagine the Sox would get a ton in return for him.

[Leonard Zelig]

Everybody should know that clause that upped Buehrle's contract by $1M and added the option year is no longer in effect since he is now a 5/10 player.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

I'll always love Mark and I'll defend him to no end, and I really hate the thought of trading him, but if the Sox can acquire a much cheaper SP, dump the salary, then use the $14M in multiple areas, this makes baseball sense. The Sox really, really need to win in 2011.

 

Trade CQ and/or Viciedo for Garza, dump MB while picking up a reliever (Mets for Parnell maybe? Sox have a history of liking him) then spend the cash on whatever we need. Or better yet, offer to take on someone's expensive closer for Mark Teahen's filthy contract that has AIDS all over it.

[southsider2k5]

It wouldn't surprise me if they listened on Mark, but they won't get enough for him to justify trading him in the public's eyes.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Everybody should know that clause that upped Buehrle's contract by $1M and added the option year is no longer in effect since he is now a 5/10 player.

Truth.

 

2008: full no-trade clause

2009 - July 15, 2010: limited no-trade protection allowing Buehrle to block trades to certain unspecified clubs. A trade triggers an escalator paying $1M raise to $15M annually, plus a guaranteed fifth year paying $15M for 2012.

July 16, 2010-2011: Buehrle may not be traded without his permission, under right as 10-and-5 player

 

Per Cot's Baseball Contracts

[nitetrain8601]

Well it would stink, but at the same time, it would make things a whole lot easier. Resign Freddy or get Andrew Miller or take a flyer on another down on the luck starting pitcher. Free up space, and fill up that bullpen. Honestly, trading Buehrle is a better move than trading Quentin as it would be tough to find an everyday player who could replace his offense in my opinion. And this coming from someone who's not a fan of Quentin at all.

[maggsmaggs]

It's unfortunate. Mark is a $8 million player making $14 million. But even if he is overpaid, he has earned all his money being the face of the franchise, never missing starts, being a great role model/human being, leading us to a WS and throwing a perfect game. So I am not too bothered that he makes more than he his true on-the-field baseball worth.

[Springfield Soxfan]

Truth.

 

2008: full no-trade clause

2009 - July 15, 2010: limited no-trade protection allowing Buehrle to block trades to certain unspecified clubs. A trade triggers an escalator paying $1M raise to $15M annually, plus a guaranteed fifth year paying $15M for 2012.

July 16, 2010-2011: Buehrle may not be traded without his permission, under right as 10-and-5 player

 

Per Cot's Baseball Contracts

Ok, so to further clarify the fifth year option on that contract that would vest if Buehrle was trades was voided once he achieved 10-5 status.

[Balta1701]

Ok, so to further clarify the fifth year option on that contract that would vest if Buehrle was trades was voided once he achieved 10-5 status.

However...since he is a 10/5 player...I'd say it's almost guaranteed that he'd ask for something, either an escalator picked up or an option year picked up, etc., in exchange for waiving his 10/5 rights.

[shipps]

Uh....this will not happen.

[scenario]

The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo reports that he had no real baseball news to talk about... so he started making s*** up to meet a deadline.

 

Fixed

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

It would be so damn helpful to this team, but incredibly sad to see.

[macsandz]

The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo reports that the White Sox will listen to offers for Mark Buehrle.

We've heard at one point or another about pretty much all of the White Sox rotation being on the market, as GM Kenny Williams has talked about having to be creative with his roster with the budget stretched to its limit. Buehrle is due $14 million on the last year of his contract, so we can't imagine the Sox would get a ton in return for him.

 

Pointless. Nobody is gonna trade for Buehrle.

[IamtheHBOMB]

Uh....this will not happen.

 

This.

 

I think it is safe to assume that Kenny is listening to offers for every player on his roster -- at one time or another. With that said, the White Sox would not get a fair return for Buehrle. Couple that fact with the massive PR hit we'd be taking and the one year remaining on his contract -- this rumor doesn't make a lot of sense.

[sircaffey]

I know people will bring up this being a PR hit, but I don't think that would be an issue for KW/JR. KW's/JR's attitude seems to be more about winning than pleasing the fans. If a Buehrle trade made is better, I don't think he would hesitate to make it. Although, that is the question. Can we get enough in return to make it worthwhile?

[IamtheHBOMB]

I know people will bring up this being a PR hit, but I don't think that would be an issue for KW/JR. KW's/JR's attitude seems to be more about winning than pleasing the fans. If a Buehrle trade made is better, I don't think he would hesitate to make it. Although, that is the question. Can we get enough in return to make it worthwhile?

 

I agree with this, but it's silly to think that public perception of the team doesn't matter to them. I can only recall one instance where KW traded a very popular and productive player to another team -- Rowand for Thome (a prototypical sell high deal).

[bighurt574]

The only thing I can see is if the Yankees miss on Lee and get desperate.

[elrockinMT]

It wouldn't surprise me if they listened on Mark, but they won't get enough for him to justify trading him in the public's eyes.

 

 

I think any team and any GM would listen to offers on any player they had, but to say they are activelt trying to trade him is probbaly just not true. KW came out and said he wasn't trying to trade CQ and I think that is correct. I don't really see why some think we have to trade these guys. We are putting together a real good team by adding the free agents and I don't see the main roster being traded away

[ptatc]

It's unfortunate. Mark is a $8 million player making $14 million. But even if he is overpaid, he has earned all his money being the face of the franchise, never missing starts, being a great role model/human being, leading us to a WS and throwing a perfect game. So I am not too bothered that he makes more than he his true on-the-field baseball worth.

 

 

Not to mention the fact that early in his career when he was making the minimum and far out performing it. This is the way the sytem has been set in baseball under paid early on and over paid at the end.

[bschmaranz]

I don't believe it for a second but at the same time, if they found a way to upgrade this team by moving Buehrle, do it!

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

If we traded him the best we could hope for would be salary relief and maybe some reclamation projects. Like, maybe we eat about $3-4M and send him to the Brewers for Manny Parra and Carlos Gomez. A deal like that could be awesome if we were able to get another starter via trade, because you could send Gomez somewhere for a reliever and use Parra as the starter until Peavy is ready, then put him in the pen as a Coop project.

 

Or maybe you use Mark in another high-salary swap, the Mets being a perfect fit given their terrible SP staff and both KRod and Beltran (who we could use) making lots of cash in the final years of their deals. But then a deal like that doesn't really serve a purpose, unless you're able to throw in Teahen's contract or something and get salary relief that way. Or unless you get another piece or two in the process.

[Balta1701]

If we traded him the best we could hope for would be salary relief and maybe some reclamation projects. Like, maybe we eat about $3-4M and send him to the Brewers for Manny Parra and Carlos Gomez. A deal like that could be awesome if we were able to get another starter via trade, because you could send Gomez somewhere for a reliever and use Parra as the starter until Peavy is ready, then put him in the pen as a Coop project.

 

Or maybe you use Mark in another high-salary swap, the Mets being a perfect fit given their terrible SP staff and both KRod and Beltran (who we could use) making lots of cash in the final years of their deals. But then a deal like that doesn't really serve a purpose, unless you're able to throw in Teahen's contract or something and get salary relief that way. Or unless you get another piece or two in the process.

You'll note...none of the deals you wrote actually make us remotely better next year, considering we'd be losing 200-ish innings of pitching with a 4-ish ERA. The only way that any of those deals make us better is if there's so much money thrown in that we could go and buy a big money player to fill an open spot...which basically means to me we need the money available to sign Rafael Soriano, because he's about the only difference-maker left on the market at a position we could use.

[3E8]

Not to mention the fact that early in his career when he was making the minimum and far out performing it. This is the way the sytem has been set in baseball under paid early on and over paid at the end.

Except Mark is still earning his pay. Going by Fangraphs' WAR as well as B-R.com's (which I think is more accurate for pitchers) Buehrle has been worth every penny of his current contract and then some.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

You'll note...none of the deals you wrote actually make us remotely better next year, considering we'd be losing 200-ish innings of pitching with a 4-ish ERA. The only way that any of those deals make us better is if there's so much money thrown in that we could go and buy a big money player to fill an open spot...which basically means to me we need the money available to sign Rafael Soriano, because he's about the only difference-maker left on the market at a position we could use.

That's why I said they'd be dependent upon other moves, duh. No deal we will make involving Buehrle will make us better on its own. We will almost certainly NOT win the deal in the long run, and at the very least, at the time the deal is made it will look like a bad deal for the Sox on paper, even if we get value out of it down the road. But as a whole, alongside other moves, it could make us a lot better depending on what we do.

 

Also, Soriano is coming off a fantastic year and probably isn't worth whatever he is asking. Believing Soriano is the only difference maker we could use left on the market is extremely pessimistic especially considering the volatile nature of relievers. Jose Contreras for example signed for pennies on the dollar last offseason because of his circumstances and the Phils, who did the scouting, got a huge bargain of a difference maker. In order to win our division, we, like every other team in baseball, will need to bank on a few smart "scouting" moves that end up surprising people.

[Balta1701]

You get the point though...dealing Mark Buehrle does pretty much nothing other than save money...and it's saving money that we really won't be able to spend this offseason. It might free up some money to take on salary at the trade deadline, but either way, that's all we get out of it; money, and that money isn't likely to be spent on anything that would help the team as much as Mark!