Jump to content

Sox rearranging dominos


spiderman

Recommended Posts

Per the Chicago Tribune:

 

 

Sox rearranging dominos

Non-tender to Sierra would free roster spot

 

A small move Tuesday could lead to bigger things for the White Sox.

 

The Sox were expected to tender contracts to their remaining unsigned players on the 40-man roster, including third baseman Joe Crede and infielder Alex Cintron. The lone exception is minor-league pitcher Eduardo Sierra, who would come off the roster and become a free agent.

The Sierra move would create space on the Sox's 40-man roster. The Sox and the other 29 major-league teams are expected to scour the list of non-tendered players once those names become available after Tuesday's 11 p.m. deadline.

 

Although the pool of non-tendered players has produced prolific hitters such as slugger David Ortiz, whom Boston signed after Minnesota let him go in December 2002, it's uncertain whether teams will be willing to allow their players to head to free agency instead of tendering them contracts and retaining their rights.

 

The Los Angeles Angels, for instance, were expected to tender a contract to reliever Brendan Donnelly despite possessing a deep bullpen fortified by the signings of free agents Justin Speier and Darren Oliver.

 

By keeping Donnelly, who earned $950,000 last season, the Angels have the option of trading him instead of non-tendering him and receiving no compensation.

 

Non-tendering Sierra would create space on the 40-man roster in the event the Sox make a multiplayer trade. They weren't required to clear a spot in the Dec. 6 trade with Philadelphia involving 17-game winner Freddy Garcia. That's because left-hand pitcher Gio Gonzalez, who returned to the Sox with pitcher Gavin Floyd, isn't required to be placed on the 40-man roster until he completes his fifth professional season in 2008.

 

Houston, meanwhile, probably has fallen off the Sox's trade radar after the Astros acquired pitcher Jason Jennings from Colorado in exchange for pitchers Taylor Buchholz and Jason Hirsh and speedy center fielder Willy Taveras.

 

Jennings is scheduled to become a free agent in 2008, but the deal is essentially the same deal the Astros believed they were close to completing last Thursday for Sox pitcher Jon Garland. Garland has won 36 games the last two seasons and is signed through 2008.

 

Texas also no longer appears to be a likely match with the Sox because the Rangers addressed their center field and leadoff issues by signing Kenny Lofton. The Rangers also re-signed starting pitcher Vicente Padilla and are interested in free agents Barry Zito and Mark Mulder, according to published reports.

 

Sierra, 24, was 2-1 with a 5.65 ERA in 26 appearances with Double-A Birmingham. He struck out 40 but walked 30 in 43 innings for the Barons.

 

The Sox could sign Sierra to a minor-league contract if he elects not to sign with another team.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 13, 2006 -> 05:27 AM)
This was the latest thing I have seen about Sandy, from the 7th...

 

The article I read stated early December, so that is actually promising news. Give me Toby Hall....he's a tough out against LHP and doesn't strike out much. I'll also add to the fact that he's one of the nicest guys in the game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 11:31 PM)
The article I read stated early December, so that is actually promising news. Give me Toby Hall....he's a tough out against LHP and doesn't strike out much. I'll also add to the fact that he's one of the nicest guys in the game.

 

He'll also be able to bust guys with corked bats. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUOTE(103 mph screwball @ Dec 13, 2006 -> 05:51 AM)
Any predictions of how much he would sign for?

 

I don't know how much he'll end up signing for, but the Sox should be willing to match (within reasonable terms here) just about anyone elses offer. The last time the Sox had more than one decent hitting catcher was the 2000 team that had the Charles Johnson, Mark Johnson, and Josh Paul trio. And that was more fluke than anything, as Josh Paul somehow managed a pretty okay 88 OPS+ (for a backup catcher) in 70+ ABs.

 

Honestly, it wouldn't hurt me one bit to see the Sox overpay by a million bucks to bring Hall in there. I'd have to figure that a one year, $3.5 million dollar contract would get the job done, as he'd get paid a pretty good amount for a backup, but he'd also get a good deal of playing time considering all the lefties in the Central.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...