Official Re-sign Paul Konerko Thread

[Chisoxfn]

Boers and Bernstein talked about this subject for a little today, and they made some points I agree with. 

 

Basically they said that teams that have won for awhile have been fluid. 

 

It would suck to see PK go, he has been great for this team, but I will trust KW, I think he's earned that from me.  If they lose PK and he can bring in an Overbay and Matsui, I think that goes aways to make up for the loss.

 

Also, over the past few days Boers has been saying if the Sox trade someone from their staff it would be Garcia.  Haven't heard this elsewhere, but I imagine he would be worth something pretty good.  They mentioned Blaylock from Texas

To be honest, out of all of our starters not named Duque if I were to trade from the big 4, Garcia would be the guy as well.

 

I'd do a Tex for Garcia trade, assuming the Sox would go out and sign themselves another starter to replace him.

[Pierzynski 12]

I doubt KW will trade Freddy.

Edited November 7, 2005 by BMac41

[Balta1701]

I doubt KW will trade Freddy.

There's no reason at all to trade Freddo. Had KW not signed him during the middle of the season, and waited until the end of the year, when people like Derek Lowe were getting $10 million contracts, Freddie might have gotten $11 or $12 million. He's actually relatively cheap based on the pitching contracts from last season.

[JUGGERNAUT]

I appreciate what Kong has done this season as much as any fan of the WC CWS but he is simply too inconsistent to warrant $65M/5 yrs. When a team is thinking about spending that much they have to look at what that player means to the team overall.

 

1) Leadership: Kong has that

2) PR potential: It's mixed. He's great during the season but shows a reluctance to be a force after the season.

3) Fielding: He's been great this year. Should have won a GG.

4) Running: Offers next to nothing. His presence on the base pads increases the probability of a DP for the next guy. You can look up the stats.

5) Hitting: Again he had 2 poor months. That's been very consistent throughout his time with the CWS. That's not something you expect out of a $13M/yr player.

 

Delgado's recent contract with the Marlins:

2005: $4M

2006: $13.5M

2007: $14.5M

2008: $16M

2009: $16M (MVP & post-season awards)/$12M/or $4M buyout.

Total: $52M/4yr.

 

It becomes a $64/5 deal only if Delgado has an all-star 1st & 2nd half in 2008. Else if they still want him it becomes a $60/5 deal.

 

Delgado 2005: .301/33/115 VS. LEFT: .234 / .769 VS. RIGHT: .326 / 1.057 HOME: .283 / .969 AWAY: .318 / .991

 

Kong 2005: .283/40/100 VS. LEFT: .261 / .956 VS. RIGHT: .290 / .895 HOME: .292 / .959 AWAY: .276 / .863

 

If Kong doesn't mind sticking around during the off-season to shoot commercials he has a much greater endorsement potential in Chicago than Delgado does in Miami. All things considered the White Sox should offer him a deal structured nearly the same as Delgado's. If he turns that down I think he's making a big mistake. If being close to his family is what matters the most then the White Sox should work some deals with the D Backs so that they can find room to sign him.

Edited November 7, 2005 by JUGGERNAUT

[JUGGERNAUT]

BOS, NYM, LAA, & ARZ are the likely suitors for Kong.

A Manny trade to LAA would open the door wide to BOS, & ARZ but close the door for LAA.

 

However a Manny trade would also saddle BOS with Glaus' contract & still leave their bullpen as their greatest weakness. I just don't see BOS as a good fit for Kong or vice versa.

 

NYM. Who wants to play for them?

 

A Manny trade would move a big contract off of AZD & open the door for Kong. Tracy would move back to 3B. When you consider what this means to AZD defense it's a big move. But I can't see how the AZD can offer better than a Delgado-like contract to Kong. He's already said if the money is equal he's prefer to the White Sox. So AZD would have to move another contract to overpay for Kong.

 

Which brings up Shawn Green: $8M/2006, $9.5M/2007, $2M buyout/Or $9.5M/2008

 

Green 2005: .286/22/73 VS. LEFT: .226 / .669 VS. RIGHT: .306 / .887 HOME: .279 / .818 AWAY: .293 / .846

 

They don't have sign & trade deals in MLB but it's not inconceivable the two teams could talk to one another in conjunction with Kong's agent to essentially pull this off. Because AZD would be put in a position of essentially competing with the White Sox for Kong's services we can expect the White Sox to get the better of the deal in terms of what they have to give up to get Shawn Green.

 

Green adds a new dimension to the White Sox. A LHB for power.

The lineup becomes:

SPods (LHB)

Gooch(RHB - but good vs both LH, RH arms)

JDye(RHB)

FThomas(RHB)

SGreen(LHB)

Rowand(RHB)

Crede(RHB)

AJP(LHB)

Uribe(RHB)

 

I know Thomas is questionable but whoever that person is they have Dye in front of them & Green behind them. That's a better middle than we have today.

[JUGGERNAUT]

Shawn Green (hometown Des Plaines, IL) is very consistent month to month:

April .253A/.327O/.385S

May .273A/.330O/.404S

June .306A/.377O/.663S

July .324A/.395O/.505S

Aug .308A/.366O/.549S

Sept .350A/.382O/.732S

 

His 3 yr averages:

April .266/.343O/.428S

May .253/.321O/.408S

June .257/.323O/.462S

July .304/.371O/.502S

Aug .305/.396O/.516S

Sept .280/.370O/.484S

 

His Jul & Aug numbers are the most impressive here. That's the weakness on the White Sox. We tank in offense in Aug at the same time our pitching goes south. We've got guys that always get hot in Sept. That's why we've not had a losing Sept under KW's tenure.

 

Even if the Manny trade does not go down this trade & the eventual signing of Kong by the AZD works well for both teams. Though I'd prefer Kong to remain at $52M/4 getting Green would be nice as well.

[Balta1701]

Maybe Juggs can correct me on this one, but I was under the impression that Arizona was facing a fairly decent log jam on the infield, much like we have on the outfield, and that was for 1 why they were moving Tracy around to different positions - because they have more players than playing time.

 

Even if Glaus were moved, I think they still have a fairly hefty number of people waiting in the winds to fill those slots, and that might reduce the amount they'd be willing to pay Konerko. I mean, if they're willing to part with Glaus after 1 year...

 

Also, the Diamondbacks aren't without their share of bad contracts (Ortiz) that might saddle them a little bit in any negotiation.

[JUGGERNAUT]

To the best of my knowledge of AZD they are deep in OF but about average on the corners. Tracy was moved to 1B to make room for Glaus. They are considering moving Gonzalez to make room for one of their young OFers. But if you move Glaus, you can move Tracy back to 3B (his natural position) & then look to upgrade 1B. Koney would probably allow them to part with Clark which would save them another million.

 

A rumor has surfaced out of Miami this week that could have bearings on Kong as well. Delgado has been rumored to have indicated he would like to void his contract with the Marlins & enter FA. Now when you look at how the contract is structured & consider the Marlins finances there is reason to beleive the rumor is not all hot air. If Delgado were to become a FA that would probably put Koney down to #2.

 

If there is any truth to this rumor than teams might sit on the fence a while to see what happens. There still might be a bidding war for Kong but it looks to be a slow & arduous process. That leaves me to believe that the CWS will offer arbitration to both Kong & Frank just to extend their negotiation time.

[Balta1701]

Here's something I've been unclear on...could the White Sox even offer arbitration to Frank after choosing to buy his contract out?

 

They'll certainly offer it to Konerko...no reason not to. If memory serves, they have to offer it to Konerko in order to get draft picks in return if he leaves, and normally when people go through arbitration their salary does not change much from the previous year.

 

It's for this last reason that I can't imagine the Sox offering Thomas arbitration. If he were to accept, it'd probably cost the Sox a lot more than if we just signed him to a 1-2 year incentive laden deal.

[Frank the Tank 35]

Don't forget about Conor Jackson in AZ. He's one of their hotshot prospects, has horrible defense, and therefore only plays 1B. Clark's there because he put up huge numbers in limited playing time and can be the fill-in till Jackson is fully acclimated to the majors. PK is not headed to Arizona IMO.

[JUGGERNAUT]

You ask a good question. I believe when you offer a player arbitration you are agreeing to pay them at least 80% of their previous year's contract worth. So in Frank's case that would be a little over $6M. However I don't know whether buy out money counts toward the player's 2006 salary. I believe it does. So if they offered Frank arbitration to extend the negotiating time frame I believe they would only be on the hook for a little more than $3M on top of the $3.5M buyout.

[beck72]

There is no doubt that Kenny will look to shop Pods this year.  If there is a solid offer on the table he will pull the trigger because Pods is a little over-rated and with Anderson ready, he might be better than Pods.

Not happening. though Anderson could play the OF, he's not a leadoff hitter. Pods will be around all of 2006, barring any big collapse. Owens might be ready for 2007. Though giving a rookie the leadoff spot would be dicey.

[beck72]

Shawn Green (hometown Des Plaines, IL) is very consistent month to month:

April  .253A/.327O/.385S

May    .273A/.330O/.404S

June    .306A/.377O/.663S

July  .324A/.395O/.505S

Aug    .308A/.366O/.549S

Sept  .350A/.382O/.732S

 

His 3 yr averages:

April .266/.343O/.428S

May    .253/.321O/.408S

June .257/.323O/.462S

July .304/.371O/.502S

Aug    .305/.396O/.516S

Sept  .280/.370O/.484S

 

His Jul & Aug numbers are the most impressive here.  That's the weakness on the White Sox.  We tank in offense in Aug at the same time our pitching goes south.  We've got guys that always get hot in Sept.  That's why we've not had a losing Sept under KW's tenure.

 

Even if the Manny trade does not go down this trade & the eventual signing of Kong by the AZD works well for both teams.  Though I'd prefer Kong to remain at $52M/4 getting Green would be nice as well.

No to Green. He's on the downside of his career and not worth the kind of cash he's getting

[nitetrain8601]

To be honest, out of all of our starters not named Duque if I were to trade from the big 4, Garcia would be the guy as well. 

 

I'd do a Tex for Garcia trade, assuming the Sox would go out and sign themselves another starter to replace him.

 

Neh. I wouldn't trade any of the big four right now. Especially not Garcia. He's very cheap and pretty damn good. Plus, we have no one to replace him in the rotation.

[3E8]

Neh. I wouldn't trade any of the big four right now. Especially not Garcia. He's very cheap and pretty damn good. Plus, we have no one to replace him in the rotation.

If by very cheap you mean the most expensive pitcher we have on the team, and as of now the highest salary per year we have on the team. He's good, but he will probably be our 3rd or possibly our 4th best starter next season. I wouldn't be at all opposed to trading him but that's never going to happen.

[nitetrain8601]

If by very cheap you mean the most expensive pitcher we have on the team, and as of now the highest salary per year we have on the team.  He's good, but he will probably be our 3rd or possibly our 4th best starter next season.  I wouldn't be at all opposed to trading him but that's never going to happen.

 

Market value wise, he's a proven pitcher who would've gotten tons more on the open market this past offseason. And again, we have no replacement for him. No way I trade him.

[CWSGuy406]

Market value wise, he's a proven pitcher who would've gotten tons more on the open market this past offseason. And again, we have no replacement for him. No way I trade him.

 

Out of the big four of Contreras, Buehrle, Garland, and Garcia, Freddy had the worst year.

 

I'd agree that going into this year, it's probably not the best idea to trade him, but going into next year, when Haigwood or Broadway or Gonzalez might be ready for cheap, I'd certainly look at dealing him. I believe he's going to make close to $20 million in the next two year, and he's on the wrong side of 30.

 

I know he's Ozzie's pal and all, but he might just be the worst SP on our staff next year (not that that's a bad thing). If there's a good deal out there to be had, I'd certainly explore the possibility.

[DBAHO]

To the best of my knowledge of AZD they are deep in OF but about average on the corners.  Tracy was moved to 1B to make room for Glaus.  They are considering moving Gonzalez to make room for one of their young OFers.  But if you move Glaus, you can move Tracy back to 3B (his natural position) & then look to upgrade 1B.  Koney would probably allow them to part with Clark which would save them another million.

 

A rumor has surfaced out of Miami this week that could have bearings on Kong as well.  Delgado has been rumored to have indicated he would like to void his contract with the Marlins & enter FA.  Now when you look at how the contract is structured & consider the Marlins finances there is reason to beleive the rumor is not all hot air.  If Delgado were to become a FA that would probably put Koney down to #2.

 

If there is any truth to this rumor than teams might sit on the fence a while to see what happens.  There still might be a bidding war for Kong but it looks to be a slow & arduous process.  That leaves me to believe that the CWS will offer arbitration to both Kong & Frank just to extend their negotiation time.

1 - Arizona needs to get their payroll down to 60M next season. How are they going to sign Konerko then?

2 - If they moved Glaus they would still not upgrade at 1B. They have Tony Clark and Conor Jackson.

3 - Tracy's not great defensively at 3rd base. That was a big reason why they signed Glaus in the 3rd place. With Josh Byrnes saying he wants to improve infield defense, Tracy may not be at 3rd, even if Glaus is moved (although it'd be likely).

4 - Why would they trade Clark after they just re-signed him for 2 seasons?

5 - Shawn Green's contract.

and contract was RESTRUCTURED to a 3-year deal worth $31,900,016 thru 2007-  he receives a 7M signing bonus (5M paid in 2005 and the other 2M payable by 2008) and salaries of 5.5M in 2005, 8M in 2006 and 9.5M in 2007- + the deal includes a Mutual Option for 2008 worth 10M or a 2M buyout, if the team should decline the option (if Green declines the option and elects for Free Agency, he would forfeit the buyout)- + the deal includes a full NO-TRADE clause in 2005 and a limited NTC in 2006 and 2007, meaning he could only be traded to 3 teams (believed to be LA, SD and ANA) without his written consent- + the 850K bonuses from original contract for 2005 season remain-

[DBAHO]

Out of the big four of Contreras, Buehrle, Garland, and Garcia, Freddy had the worst year. 

 

I'd agree that going into this year, it's probably not the best idea to trade him, but going into next year, when Haigwood or Broadway or Gonzalez might be ready for cheap, I'd certainly look at dealing him.  I believe he's going to make close to $20 million in the next two year, and he's on the wrong side of 30. 

 

I know he's Ozzie's pal and all, but he might just be the worst SP on our staff next year (not that that's a bad thing).  If there's a good deal out there to be had, I'd certainly explore the possibility.

Personally I think there's a greater possibility of Garland regressing and being worse than Freddy, even though I know a lot of people don't agree with that. Especially with Jose's deal up at the end of 2006, can't see Freddy being moved, until his contract his up.

[SSH2005]

Personally I think there's a greater possibility of Garland regressing and being worse than Freddy, even though I know a lot of people don't agree with that. Especially with Jose's deal up at the end of 2006, can't see Freddy being moved, until his contract his up.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think most reasonable people would agree with you. Garcia is usually going to put up an ERA in the high 3's every year. For all we know, Garland could shoot back up to the 4.50 range next season.

[The Ginger Kid]

Per Phil Rogers, who's at the GM meeting in Palm Springs:

 

At $8.75 million, Konerko was the highest-paid player on the 2005 Sox, taking up less than 12 percent of a $75 million payroll. As that percentage of payroll goes higher, even if the payroll does increase to $85 million, it will be more difficult for Williams to keep his team as deep as it was during the dream season. With Boston, the Los Angeles Angels, the New York Mets and possibly Yankees interested in Konerko, the price per season could jump above $14 million, the franchise-record salary Magglio Ordonez was paid in 2004.

 

That's a bit steep. I say congrats to you Paulie, take it if you can get it.

 

Link

[Kalapse]

Per Phil Rogers, who's at the GM meeting in Palm Springs:

That's a bit steep. I say congrats to you Paulie, take it if you can get it.

 

Link

There is absolutely no way in hell KW goes above 5yrs/$65M. He's just too intelligent to be throwing that kind of money around at a guy like Konerko.

[YASNY]

Im in your corner on that one Dabby. I sort of feel the same about Garland most feel about Freddy. While I dont want to break up the fab 4, I also think if the right deal is out there, Jon can be shipped off. You have to have some balls and alot of faith to tell me Jon will have a higher value in his career then RIGHT NOW.

 

While Fredrico can be shaky, he is flat out a gamer. For OBVIOUS reasons, his performance in game 4 got overlooked. There is no bigger game than the clincher for the WS, on the road none the less, and he didnt give up a run.

If the deal is there, Garland can be moved.

 

I'll step up to the plate on that one. I believe, barring injury, Garland's value will just continue to climb for a couple of years. He's always had the talent, and this year, he finally learned how to pitch. He's just coming into his own as a big time pitcher.

[Jordan4life_2007]

I'll step up to the plate on that one.  I believe, barring injury, Garland's value will just continue to climb for a couple of years.  He's always had the talent, and this year, he finally learned how to pitch.  He's just coming into his own as a big time pitcher.

 

I couldn't agree more. Garland is 27 and just entering his prime. I expect him to be possibly better in year's to come.

[DBAHO]

I'll step up to the plate on that one.  I believe, barring injury, Garland's value will just continue to climb for a couple of years.  He's always had the talent, and this year, he finally learned how to pitch.  He's just coming into his own as a big time pitcher.

I always thought he had a lot of talent too YAS, (and I remember this time last year we'd have these discussions that we needed to keep him, otherwise he would reach his potential somewhere else) but I don't know if he can continue to be an 18 game winner with a K/BB ratio of 115/47, although if the Sox keep their infield defense the way it is, he's certainly got a good chance to keep those numbers.

 

I suppose I'm just a little leery with the way he finished off the season, and the way Houston got to him in game 3. He just needs to improve against lefties (.267, 19 of 26 HR's). If he can do that, he'll be on the Southside for a long, long time. Plus there's not much b/w his home and away splits, which is also an excellent sign.