Chicago White Sox Trades and Free Agent Signings 2008 Season

Recent Rumor Rumblings and Confirmed Additions

In what would be considered a minor move by many fans, the Chicago White Sox traded right-handed relief pitcher to the Boston Red Sox for two right-handed minor league pitchers: Willy Mota and Miguel Socolovich on Jan. 28.

It was only a matter of time before Aardsma was fully released, so acquiring two young arms in exchange for the hard-throwing reliever is seen by many as a decent deal.

Aardsma, who the White Sox acquired for the 2007 season in a trade with the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs for one-time golden-armed reliever Neal Cotts. Aardsma excelled for the first portion of the season, but completely lost his ability to hit the strike zone with regularity and spent the remainder season in the minor leagues.

While not a lot is known about either of the players acquired in the deal, Mota is a converted outfielder. This deal should help the White Sox restock their farm system to an extent.

In a quest to once again build upon a shaky 2007 bullpen, on Jan. 21, Chicago White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams made a strong offer to relief pitcher Octavio Dotel who spent time last season, though much injured, with the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves. If Dotel can remain healthy, arm problems have plagued him in recent seasons, Dotel can be a high strikeout force with steady command. On most teams, Dotel would fit the bill as closer, but on the Chicago White Sox, Bobby Jenks will continue to close games as he's one of the most dominant closers in all of baseball. The deal for Dotel said to be of the 2-year, $11 million variety.

The White Sox also added Scott Linebrink, in November, and look to have, with health, a much improved bullpen.

Late Jan. 17, the Chicago White Sox re-signed veteran third-baseman Joe Crede to a 1-year deal to avoid arbitration. The deal, worth $5.1 million, is expected to be his last signing with the Chicago White Sox. Rookie third baseman Josh Fields hit for major power despite being rough on defense in a shortened season in 2007.

It's anticipated by most fans and experts that Joe Crede will be traded once he shows his surgically repaired back is fully headed, during Spring Training to allow Josh Fields to earn the starting job at third base for the Chicago White Sox.

On Jan. 14, 2008, speculation has indicated the Chicago White Sox may be interested in acquiring the services of free-agent, and former Chicago White Sox starting pitcher, Bartolo Colon. The thinking of many fans is that the Chicago White Sox will look to add a short-term veteran starter to bolster the starting rotation in a competitive AL Central. Colon has suffered injury setbacks in past years, specifically with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

On Jan. 3, 2008, the Chicago White Sox traded for slugging outfielder/first baseman Nick Swisher of the Oakland Athletics. In return the Oakland Athletics received three promising prosects including pitchers Gio Gonzalex, Fautina De Los Santos, and outfielder Ryan Sweeney.

The trade for Swisher is interesting because he is versatile enough to handle centerfield, left field, as well as first base. He can hit for power, is a switch-hitter, and is an on-base machine. His hard-nosed work ethic may also help White Sox fans forget a bit about Aaron Rowand, and his contract is definitely appealing.

Swisher was one of the most popular players among Oakland Athletics fans and it's said Swisher will make a welcomed addition in the clubhouse.

As of Jan. 2, 2008, all appears to still be quiet on the rumor front aside from rumblings of a possible deal involving Joe Crede and the Philadelphia Phillies.

On Dec. 21, the Chicago White Sox have reportedly reached a 4-year, $4.75 million deal with Alexei Ramirez formerly of Cuban team Pinar del Rio. Although it's unclear if he will be a regular starter, it's assumed he can fully handle duties at shortstop, second base, as well as center field. Fans may be familiar with Pinar del Rio may recognize it as the former team of fellow Cuban defector Jose Contreras, who currently remains a starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox.

With the White Sox failing yet to make a spash in the free-agent or trade route in the outfield, there are rumors the White Sox may attempt to trade longtime first baseman Paul Konerko. Another year, another Paul Konerko trade rumor. Trading the team's player with its most seniority and steady power numbers for an outfielder would not only further outrage White Sox fans, but probably wouldn't make a ton of sense.

With Kenny Williams declaring his dislike for GMs letting negotiation information leak out to the media, which often fuels rumor mill fodder, all has been quiet on the rumor radar as of late with the Chicago White Sox, as White Sox fans hope there's something good in the works.

As of the night of Dec. 9, the Chicago White Sox have yet to make another deal to better the ballclub. Very little is heard on the rumor front, but many possible centerfield options such as Milton Bradley and Andruw Jones have reportedly signed with the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectfully.

The White Sox, rumored to be in pursuit of Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome along with reportedly the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, lost out on the service of the reported 5-tool player to the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs. It's expected he'll play either right field center field for the Cubs and is expected to instantly increase the team's with his projected boost of on base percentage.

Wednesday, Dec. 5 seemed to be dominated by the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees chatter in each team's pursuit of star Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Johan Santana. Lost in most of the shuffle was an almost odd notion that not a single Chicago White Sox rumor appeared in print. Perhaps the White Sox are still stinging from missing out on Florida Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera, or perhaps Kenny Williams and his team are ready to pounce on another strong deal.

Let's hope for the latter.

Tuesday, Dec. 4 presented White Sox fans with an ultimate kick in the proverbial teeth. Not only did the team fail to reel in Miguel Cabrera, but he, and young left-handed starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis were obtained by the division rival Detroit Tigers. The addition of Cabrera to an already potent offense is sure to make that club even tougher to pitch to. At least Detroit Tigers fans have plenty in which to cheer.

As recent as Nov. 30, the Chicago White Sox have been rumored to Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star outfielder Jason Bay.

Leading up to 2005 and Beyond

The 2005 Chicago White Sox went all the way and took home the franchise's first World Series Championship in 88 years. The White Sox followed that season up with a 90-win season and finished short of making the MLB Playoffs. The 2007 season saw the White Sox win only 72 games.

Going into the 2008 season, White Sox general manager Kenny Williams has made it known that he will do whatever it takes to return the Chicago White Sox into a contender for 2008.

Trades

As with nearly all off-seasons involving Kenny Williams, the Chicago White Sox are rumored to be interested in just about every available trade partner or free agent signing.

For one of the first trade moves of this off-season, the White Sox traded longtime starting pitcher Jon Garland to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Gold Glove-winning shortstop Orlando Cabrera and cash.

The trade for Orlando Cabrera surprised many White Sox fans seeing as the team decided to re-sign incombent shortstop Juan Uribe. While only a select number of shortstops can carry better defensive skills than Uribe, many fans tired of Uribe's free-swinging ways that has led to a decline in batting average for the last several seasons.

Extra shortstop? Extra third baseman?

Currently, the White Sox have both Orlando Cabrera, the assumed starting shortstop, and Juan Uribe on the payroll. It's assumed the White Sox will deal Uribe some point before Spring Training.

Also, the Chicago White Sox have two players to play third base. Longtime White Sox third baseman Joe Crede missed most of the 2007 campaign following lower back surgery. A full recovery is anticipated, but the 2008 season is Crede's last season under contract, and with Scott Boras as his agent, it's anticipated the White Sox will deal Crede.

Youngster Josh Fields took over for Crede at third base in 2007, and while he didn't fit the bill with his glove as well as Crede, one of the best fielders in the game, Fields' offensive game elevated to the next level. Fields hit 23 homers and knocked in 67 runs, numbers that would impress over a full rookie campaign, let alone one in which he spent the first month in the minors.

Torii Hunter

The Chicago White Sox lost on a proposed bidding war for the services of Gold Glove, and former AL Central rival centerfielder Torii Hunter, to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the proposed prime target for the White Sox this off-season.

In missing out on signing Torii Hunter to man centerfield, many rumors link the White Sox to former White Sox centerfield Aaron Rowand. The White Sox traded Rowand, a cult favorite among Sox fans because of his relentless defense and flair for the dramatic hit, leading up to the 2006 season for potential Hall of Famer Jim Thome, then of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Following an explosive 2007 with the Philadelphia Phillies, in his final year of his contract, dozens of teams are also rumored to be interested in the services of Aaron Rowand.

On Dec. 12, Aaron Rowand reportedly reached a 5-year deal with the San Francisco Giants. The White Sox must now look to the services of somebody else.

Bullpen

One of the goals of this off-season, as described by Kenny Williams, was to also improve upon the team's bullpen, a pen that already includes knockout closer Bobby Jenks.

The White Sox agreed on a 4-year, $19 million deal to aquire the services of relief pitcher Scott Linebrink, formerly of the Milwaukee Brewers. Linebrink also spent part of last season with the San Diego Padres. Linebrink is best known for his many seasons with the Padres where he often fared high in holds, ERA, and opponents batting average.

It is projected that Linebrink will assume the role of set-up relief to absorb some outs leading up to Bobby Jenks.

It will be interesting to see how a bullpen that now includes Jenks, Linebrink, Mike MacDougal, Matt Thornton, Boone Logan, and possibly Ehren Wassermann.

Leading up to the 2007 season, the White Sox made deals for hard-throwing relief pitchers David Aardsma (of the Chicago Cubs) and Andrew Sisco (of the Kansas City Royals). These signings, coupled with the arms of Thornton and Jenks lead many experts to proclaim the White Sox bullpen to be an extreme asset. Consistency was hard to come by for both Aardsma and Sisco, as both finished the 2007 season in AAA ball.

Winter Meetings

Many fans await the fallout of the annual Winter Meetings which take place starting Monday, Dec. 3. In many cases, some of the biggest dealings and signings occur during or following this time.

On Monday, Dec. 3, the first day of the Winter Meetings the Chicago White Sox agreed to trade Class A Kannapolis first baseman Chris Carter to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for outfielder Carlos Quentin, 25.

Quentin is coming off a season in which he suffered a left shoulder injury which required surgery as well as a hamstring issue. It's unclear what role Quentin will play on the current White Sox roster, but he'll most likely battle for a starting outfield spot if the White Sox don't make further moves to acquire veteran talent.

Quentin was a studd at AAA Tuscon where he posted superb numbers. There, in 2005 he hit for a steady .301 batting average with 21 homers. Last season with the Diamondbacks, Quentin hit .214 with 5 homer runs and 31 RBI in 81 games.

What do you think? What other moves?

White Sox fans...and MLB fans...what do you think of the moves the White Sox have made and what moves do you think the Sox will soon make?