Sox Interested in Cabrera

[spiderman]

Sox interested in Cabrera

 

GM MEETINGS | Williams has what it takes -- young starting pitchers -- to land 3B

 

Ken Williams was sitting alone at the lobby bar of the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort on Tuesday. It was the perfect place to scan the expansive room teeming with general managers, their assistants and eager agents attending the annual GM meetings. And it was the perfect spot to be seen.

 

Williams sat chatting on his cell phone, barely going two minutes without waving hello to another club official. This is what happens when you are one of the few GMs with an abundance of starting pitching -- a nice mix of veterans and priced-to-move youngsters -- in a market demanding arms.

 

So could Williams -- known for his gunslinger mentality -- be the first GM to pull the trigger on a big deal this week?

 

''Oh, I don't know,'' Williams said, glancing around the lobby. ''If one of these guys comes up and sits down and says the right deal, hell ...

 

''We will not act spontaneously because we have all sat around and discussed our targets for months and months. In some cases, some guys have been on our target lists for years. So if the right proposal comes our way, yeah, we're ready for it. But we're not going to act without rhyme or reason.''

 

One of the names that has been at the center of the Sox' talks, according to sources, is Florida Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera. The buzz on Day 2 of the meetings was the message the Marlins have sent to interested parties: They will entertain offers for Cabrera and left-hander Dontrelle Willis.

 

It's no secret Sox manager Ozzie Guillen is fond of Cabrera. The two Venezuelans formed a tight bond in 2003, when Cabrera was a rookie outfielder and Guillen was the third-base coach during the Marlins' World Series championship season.

 

Cabrera, 24, hit .320 with career highs in home runs (34) and RBI (119) last season. He has had at least 112 RBI in each of his four full seasons in the majors. The biggest knock against Cabrera is his work ethic, something that wouldn't figure to be a problem with Guillen riding him on a daily basis.

 

Florida wants young arms

 

The Marlins are said to be targeting young starting pitching, and the Sox have plenty of that. Sources say they might be willing to deal two of their top prospects, right-hander Lance Broadway and left-hander Gio Gonzalez. Landing Cabrera also might mean parting ways with Josh Fields.

 

''When you trade really good players, you want really good players in return,'' said Marlins general manager Larry Beinfest, who wouldn't speak specifically about Cabrera. ''[Cabrera] is an awfully good player, that's for sure.

 

''We have our payroll challenges that we have to meet head-on. ... We have to look at everything right now.''

 

Beinfest was scheduled to begin chatting with other GMs on Tuesday night, and Williams was expected to be on the list of interested parties. The Marlins are looking to deal Cabrera mainly to save money. Cabrera earned $7.4 million in 2007 and stands to earn at least $10 million in arbitration this winter.

 

Great impersonation

 

Aside from his close relationship with Guillen, Cabrera could bring solid credentials as a Cubs hater -- something always valued on the South Side.

 

During a 2004 game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Cabrera re-enacted the darkest moment in Cubs history when Moises Alou fouled a ball into the left-field seats near the Cubs' bullpen. It was close to the spot where the ''Bartman Ball'' incident occurred against the Marlins during the 2003 National League Championship Series.

 

Though the ball was deep into the seats, Cabrera -- playing left field -- did an impressive imitation of Alou's stomping temper tantrum. Sox fans had to love it. And they quickly would embrace Cabrera, making it easy to forget about Joe Crede.

 

It's clear Williams is on a mission to upgrade a 90-loss team.

 

''We have a starting solid core of position players and a solid starting rotation, and you've got your closer in place, and some young guys who have come up and shown they can get the job done,'' Williams said. ''So it's just augmenting that, and how we do that will be the difficult task. We'll travel down the free-agent road as well as the trade path and see where that ultimately leads us.''

 

Tops on the Sox' free-agent wish list are Minnesota Twins center fielder Torii Hunter and St. Louis Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein. Landing one or both of those players, then entertaining the idea of acquiring Cabrera likely means dealing first baseman Paul Konerko. There is a feeling Konerko, who has no-trade protection, would approve a deal to the Los Angeles Angels.

 

But Williams is working one step at a time.

 

''This will be a test in patience for us this offseason more than anything because we really do have to -- more than we have in the past -- let the free-agent market evolve a little bit,'' he said.

 

''You can't act trade-wise too quickly before you get a lay of the land there in the free-agent market.''

 

[DBAHO]

Well I can't see a Fields, Broadway and Gio deal happening. No doubt we would include the last 2 pieces. But adding Cabrera and trading Fields would make it likely we'd have to keep Crede, so we'd be paying about $15-16M just for the 2 of those, and I don't think that'll occur with our payroll flexibility, unless we then traded Crede as well.

 

But as per the thoughts of the other thread, Miggy's hardly in shape to play 3rd base anymore. But I guess KW is capable of anything.

 

Also hate the Eckstein link. I hate Uribe, but I don't want Eckstein to replace him. There has to be another solution out there (e.g Furcal or Hu).

 

As for the Konerko to the Angels link, if they (the Halos) miss out on A-Rod, then yes I could maybe see something happening here possibly, if the Sox wanted to go down that route.

[BearSox]

We need to get a 3-way deal going, involving at least one of Garland, Contreras, and/or Crede.

 

Brian Anderson, Gio Gonzalez, Chris Carter, and perhaps another spect, depending on who we get back for Crede/Contreras/Garland. Would that work?

[NCsoxfan]

Do you guys think that any deal for Cabrera would have to include Fields?

[Gregory Pratt]

Would Florida be interested in Floyd?

[NCsoxfan]

I love Konerko and realize his significance to the franchise. That being said, he is owed a lot of money and his back is deteriorating.

 

As I type this I am reading the quote above that says "A good GM trades a player one year too early. A bad GM trades a player one year too late." I think this applies to Pauly as much as anyone. Next year he might not have much value at all.

[rockren]

Yes. Fields is one of the in the organization that would have real value to Flordia. A deal of Fields/Gio/DLS would certainly be something Flordia would have to listen to. Just another reason why having a solid farm system is so important.

 

Judging from the Beckett deal in the past, Florida got MLB ready players in that deal (Han-Ram and Sanchez).

 

While I'm sure they'd be interested in acquiring DLS, we could probably get away with keeping DLS.

 

Agreed that Fields would HAVE to be involved, Fields/Gio/Floyd/Egbert is a deal that I would do rather quickly. Fields would be their starting 3B right away and it's more than likely all three pitchers would be on their MLB Roster after dealing Willis as well.

[Steve9347]

OH MY GOD THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

 

I just knew this kind of BS would come up, like we have what Florida would really want.

 

Kenny: "Here's a vast downgrade from Miguel and a couple of crappy pitching prospects. Can we have the best young hitter in the game?"

 

Florida: "No."

 

See my sig, I predicted this would go on so I prepared you all for it.

[spiderman]

We need to get a 3-way deal going, involving at least one of Garland, Contreras, and/or Crede.

 

Brian Anderson, Gio Gonzalez, Chris Carter, and perhaps another spect, depending on who we get back for Crede/Contreras/Garland. Would that work?

 

I'd love to make a move for Cabrera, though I highly doubt the White Sox will, and then balance the payroll out some by moving Garland/Crede for younger players.

 

I'm also interested only if we can lock him up beyond the next 2 years.

[southsider2k5]

If you can get Cabrera for that package, you do it in a heartbeat. I do think the Yankees would top anything we put out there though.

[klaus kinski]

I dont care about the payroll-if you have a 90 loss team and can get a player like this, you do it and make your adjustments later. One player will not turn it around, but we have to hit in our division, and he would sure help

[Reddy]

i would trade just about anything for cabrera. if that means fields fine, i'm all for it. the guy is one of the best in the game - period.

[daa84]

i could see something along the lines of the konerko garland deal to anaheim for figgins kotchmann santana....which i know was BS, but just gonna run with the idea....then ship kotchman danks and one of gio/DLS for cabrera....that would allow us to keep fields, would free up the money to sign cabrera long term....provide florida with a ready to play 1b, a ready to pitch SP and a good SP prospect in a year or two or three (three if its DLS probably)..but like said previously, probably not going to happen

 

our lineup would be something like this...

figgins CF

fields LF

thome DG

cabrera 1b

dye RF

AJ C

Crede 3b

Richar 2b

SS??

 

not sure if that swap would work but basically to simplify, you could break it down into two deals...garland for figgins and shields, and konerko + gio + danks for cabrera.....maybe thats too much to give up, and it would leave us with santana and floyd in the rotation which im not exactly dying to have...but to be frank this is the type of package that would be needed to land cabrera i think....but again....id say its extremely unlikely

Edited November 7, 2007 by daa84

[daa84]

You knew this was coming.

id part with one of the three (kennedy probably with a gun to my head)....good god though those guys could all be studs in 2 years...i wont go as far to say another maddux glavine smoltz, because there may never be a trio like that....but it would be right up there with the top young combos weve seen since...ie hudson mulder zito........btw people who are so in love with our systems prospects....just take a look at the stats of the young trio the yankees have

[harfman77]

I would make the trade in the article in a heartbeat. Then look at maybe trying to move Konerko and Crede to the Angels for a package including Kendry Morales and Erick Aybar and some low level pitchers. Aybar plays MI well, runs well and will be a good top of the order guy. The money you give up getting Cabrera, you save dealing Paulie. I think you can go get someone like Corey Patterson to play CF or give BA another shot to produce in the nine hole.

[fathom]

I would make the trade in the article in a heartbeat. Then look at maybe trying to move Konerko and Crede to the Angels for a package including Kendry Morales and Erick Aybar and some low level pitchers. Aybar plays MI well, runs well and will be a good top of the order guy. The money you give up getting Cabrera, you save dealing Paulie. I think you can go get someone like Corey Patterson to play CF or give BA another shot to produce in the nine hole.

 

That sure sounds like a situation that would make our team significantly worse.

[kapkomet]

That sure sounds like a situation that would make our team significantly worse.

Cabrera for Kong (more or less)? I'm not so sure that's a bad thing.

[RockRaines]

Cabrera for Kong (more or less)? I'm not so sure that's a bad thing.

Miggy is already a better hitter than Konerko, so its not a bad thing at all.

 

This article looks like a bunch of crap though, if FLA would take Gio, Broadway (who has zero value) and Fields for Miggy then they have some soul searching to do. Every one of the guys they asked for from the yankees is better than what we have.

[fathom]

Cabrera for Kong (more or less)? I'm not so sure that's a bad thing.

 

You'd also be giving up a lot of the farm system for overrated guys like Aybar. I think Cabrera is a phenomenal player, but at this time, the Sox are in no position to have to retool the entire franchise just to trade for one guy who will be a FA in 2 years. That's why it makes a lot more sense for the Angels or Yanks, as they have only a few holes compared to our roster.

[daa84]

i know erick aybar is young and was a strong prospect at one time...but his slugging and obp were both under .300 last year...thats not bad, thats abysmal...who cares if he is fast

[elrockinMT]

We need to get a 3-way deal going, involving at least one of Garland, Contreras, and/or Crede.

 

Brian Anderson, Gio Gonzalez, Chris Carter, and perhaps another spect, depending on who we get back for Crede/Contreras/Garland. Would that work?

 

Forget those 3-way deals. One team always comes out aloser in my opinion and I would be afraid it will be the Sox

[elrockinMT]

Yes. Fields is one of the in the organization that would have real value to Flordia. A deal of Fields/Gio/DLS would certainly be something Flordia would have to listen to. Just another reason why having a solid farm system is so important.

The Konerko thing is also interesting. Konerko could obviously bring back some nice pieces, but do some of those get moved for Cabrera?? Are the Sox really doing the right thing by taking Konerko and Fields out of the lineup, and replacing them with Cabrera?

 

 

If Cabrera is a 3Bman why trade Konerko? Salary issues? I seem to remember the Sox saying they would pay what they have to pay. Now salary is an issue? Contreras and his $10M salary is soemthing that should be traded and not Konerko.

[southsideirish71]

If Cabrera is a 3Bman why trade Konerko? Salary issues? I seem to remember the Sox saying they would pay what they have to pay. Now salary is an issue? Contreras and his $10M salary is soemthing that should be traded and not Konerko.

 

Do you really believe that the White Sox have unlimited financial resources. They are coming off of a 90 loss dog. Do you really think that the renewals are going so well, that there is just money hand over fist here. What will give you more of a return, Konerko or Contreras. I agree the AARP pitcher making 10 m should go first. But finding someone that will accept a 10M AARP pitcher, unless they want to get the senior discount, is not that easy.

 

 

 

[Gregory Pratt]

heyman

 

he great Miguel Cabrera should prepare for a cross-country move after the cost-conscious Marlins put him on the trading block within the last 24 hours. The Dodgers, Giants and Angels are all expected to be major players for Cabrera, who at 24 is one of the games best hitters and most valued commodities.

 

The Marlins instigated their latest fire sale and triggered some major interest here at a slow-moving general manager meetings -- beyond the overwhelmingly pervasive A-Rod Sweepstakes, that is -- when they made Cabrera available in calls to selected teams.

 

Cabrera, generally considered to be one of the top five young players in the game, should also draw interest from the Red Sox and Yankees, among others. Both those teams, plus the three California clubs, have the type of young talent to make a blockbuster deal for Cabrera; however, the big question is which one of the five is willing to give it up.

 

Florida will also entertain offers for star pitcher Dontrelle Willis, whose poor 20007 season should be mitigated by an abject lack of top-flight pitching on the free-agent market. A blockbuster involving both Marlins stars isn't out of the question.

 

The Marlins are as experienced and proficient as anyone at the fire sale, so interested teams should not be expecting any bargains. Cabrera's a poor third baseman (some may see him as a first baseman or outfielder) and his conditioning is "up and down,'' according to one interest exec, but he still has two years before he can become a free agent -- which means his value should be even higher than Mark Teixeira's was when the Rangers traded him to the Braves for quite a haul (including catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia).

 

Florida reportedly receives in excess of $30 million in revenue-sharing but apparently likes to pocket money. The Marlins' payroll was a league-low $25 million in 2007, and Cabrera's salary, which is expected to rise from $7 million to $12 million in 2008, his second arbitration season, is a detriment for the team. But their belief that they can't keep him long-term is probably the impetus for the sale.

 

The availability of Cabrera shakes things up here considerably and could wind up eliminating one team from the A-Rod sweepstakes, which is believed now to consist of at least the Angels, Dodgers, Mets and Red Sox, and possibly several more teams. Although some teams may prefer to switch Cabrera to first base or the outfield.

 

The Marlins, who acquired Hanley Ramirez for Josh Beckett in a Boston blockbuster that may have been the best trade for both teams over the past decade, will be seeking very young and extremely talented players. They are believed to be interested in some combination from Boston that would include Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz and/or Jon Lester. Boston seems likely to retain free-agent third baseman Mike Lowell but could conceivably play Cabrera elsewhere. Cabrera has long been viewed as a budding Manny (though he's not the worker that Ramirez is).

 

The Dodgers, who have prospects galore to trade, may actually be the most logical landing spot for Cabrera, who hit .320 with 34 home runs and 119 RBIs in 2007. Los Angeles has a plethora of young outfielders and pitchers and could also offer a third-base prospect, Andy La Roche, in return. Outfielders Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier should interest the Marlins, as should young pitcher Chad Billinsgley and pitching prospects Clayton Kershaw and Jon Meloan.

 

The Giants would also appear to be a prime candidate to enter the bidding. They have top young starters to offer in Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Noah Lowry, and a talented young reliever in Jonathan Sanchez. The Angels, who are seen as the most logical landing spot for A-Rod, have prospects that they've never wanted to move but may be aided by having a new GM, Tony Reagins, who's thought to be more willing to pull the trigger than the departed Bill Stoneman.

 

The Yankees need to replace Rodriguez and have the young pitchers to make a deal, as well. They also have a young center fielder, Melky Cabrera, who could be replaced if the Yankees could acquire a center fielder elsewhere (Torii Hunter through free agency, for instance). Yet the Yankees appear extremely reluctant to part with any top-tier pitching prospects. "I would be hard pressed to trade the young talent,'' Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. "No one is untouchable. But some are less touchable than others.''

 

One person familiar with their thinking said he believed that Joba Chamberlain was absolutely untouchable, and Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy close to untouchable.

[Chombi]

Gio and Broadway? Wow. I figured Broadway had minimal value in a deal like this. If we can keep one of Gio or DLS, I am all for it.

 

Fields I'd assume would be in the deal but...I bet they'd take a risk on Crede if we wouldn't budged on Fields. Assuming Fields is who they covet. Something tells me they will want something different. If not, give them Fields and deal Crede elsewhere.

 

If you can land Miggy by giving up 3 prospects. You do it. You can replace one, if not two, via a Garland deal. Better yet, a Konerko deal since his bat has been replaced with a better one.

 

If I were Kenny and this is truly on the table. I'd act now. I'd fire away with those 3 kids. Once you have Miggy, you hold the chips. If you want to deal Garland, you can. Paulie, you can. Hell, if you want to turn around and package Miggy to the teams who miss out on Santana...You can.