Sox Could Non-Tender Carrasco

[Jordan4life_2007]

I agree that the loss isn't as big as some are making it out to be, but I don't agree that is isn't as important. Carrasco also pitched some 6th, 7th, 8th innings for us at times as well so he wasn't just strictly a mop up guy. He will be missed if he was non-tendered but this doesn't make our pen all of a sudden horrid. BTW I still do not trust Randy Williams at all.

 

Don't get me wrong. I'm certainly not saying all is lost if we lose Carrasco. But don't give me the 'he's only a mop up guy' and 'anybody' can fill his role. And I'm not saying you're doing that@Ace.

[joeynach]

This does seem strange to me. His must be asking for a ridiculous figure in arbitration or something. Seriously, even with a "young arm" able to come into the bullpen no one besides Carrasco himself is a lock to eat innings, do the dirty work, and do it all with a sub 4 era.

[joeynach]

What about trading Linebrink to the D'backs for Chris Snyder?

 

The salaries are very close:

Linebrink: 10:$5M, 11:$5.5M

Snyder: 10:$4.75M, 11:$5.75M, 12:$6.75M club option ($0.75M buyout)

 

Snyder becomes the righty backup catcher to AJ, and he has some pop to go with it. The Sox save 250K. Then they could take that savings and add it to the $1M they're probably offering Redmond or whoever else and give it to Carrasco.

 

Bullpen:

Jenks CL

Thornton LSU

Putz RSU

Pena righty specialist

Williams lefty specialist

Hudson MR

Carrasco LR

 

Snyder > Redmond, Carrasco > Linebrink

 

This is one of the better most forward thinking posts I have ever read. Great insight, great idea, great logic...I think this would be a small but very impactful move.

[MiddleCoastBias]

Carrasco on being non-tendered

 

General manager Ken Williams specifically was asked about Carrasco when speaking prior to the White Sox annual Boys & Girls Club Holiday Party on Thursday evening. Williams couldn't give a definitive answer on Carrasco's status.

 

"Asking about one particular player is difficult at this time," Williams said. "What we are doing is trying to mold together a club, so one addition comes in, and one goes out. It's difficult for me to answer as we stand here on Dec. 10."

 

Seems to me that by him saying that it's difficult to talk about one player (despite being 1 day away from decision time) doesn't look good, IMO. And the "one comes in, one goes out" sounds like they were close to the deal with Putz at the time of this interview.

[ThunderBolt]

It might be interesting to open up a spot in the pen for spring and have Omogrosso, Torres, Hynick, and Santos go at it, but really i hope we can keep Carrasco.

[Dick Allen]

I would hope the Sox would try to trade him before non tendering him. He has to have value. Guys with numbers just like his are signing for some decent money. It wouldn't bother me if they dumped him though. While he has been very good most of the time, he does seem to be pitching on borrowed time.

[Heads22]

I wouldn't be surprised if Hudson is starting in AAA.

[SoxAce]

From Gonzo's article about Putz.

 

With D.J. Carrasco likely to not be tendered a contract Saturday night and become a free agent, there is the chance that rookie Daniel Hudson could slide into Carrasco's long relief role while receiving hands-on training from pitching coach Don Cooper and veteran pitchers Jake Peavy and Mark Buehrle.

 

But another consideration would be to send Hudson to the minors for more consistent work until he's ready to join the major league staff. That would create a spot for Sergio Santos, who was converted from an infielder to a pitcher and possesses a 98 mph fastball.

 

Santos is out of options, and the Sox avoided losing him in Thursday's Rule 5 draft by putting him on their 40-man roster. If Santos doesn't pitch well in spring, the Sox could be faced with exposing him to waivers.

 

 

Little blurb about our 2nd lefty situation and Gonzo's idea.

 

Meanwhile, general manager Ken Williams didn't seem enthused about possibly acquiring a left-handed reliever from the list of players not tendered contracts late Saturday night.

 

Williams added that the Sox have enough faith in Randy Williams, who limited left-handed batters to a .162 batting average with 14 strikeouts in 27 at-bats. Randy Williams finished with a 4.58 ERA in 25 appearances, and the Sox's GM said Randy Williams' troubles stemmed from being asked to perform duties he was unsuited for.

 

Simply, Randy Williams is more effective against left-handed batters than right-handed batters (who hit .269 against him).

 

If the Sox want to add competition, they may consider a member of their 2005 World Series title team.

 

Neal Cotts is expected to be non-tendered by the Cubs, who may try to sign him to a minor league contract. Cotts, not a favorite of Cubs manager Lou Piniella, had a 2.84 ERA in 12 games with Triple-A Iowa but had a 7.36 ERA in 19 games with the Cubs.

 

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has been a fan of Cotts for his work in 2005, and pitching coach Don Cooper may be able to help Cotts regain his form during his World Series season

Edited December 12, 2009 by SoxAce

[witesoxfan]

Everything I see from reports suggests Carrasco being gone, but it still doesn't make sense to me. Sure Hudson could do the job, but then you are eating up an entire arbitration year of a guy who could easily be the 5th starter of a still stellar rotation in 2011, and losing a rather vital cog of a bullpen because of $2 mill.

 

I actually think a lot of this is due to Matsui, personally. And we won't know his whereabouts until January.

 

My final guess is that Carlos Torres plays the role of Carrasco next year with actual potential to move to middle relief and set up (which Carrasco does not have), Williams is trying to trade him right now for really anything he can get, and that Hudson remains in the minors.

[WHITESOXRANDY]

Well, It makes sense to me for the Sox to keep him at least for now. However, since they haven't committed to that I have to believe that they are trying to get something for him now.

[League]

If they REALLY like Santos, I could maybe understand non-tendering DJ, but they have to add another bat with that money.

[Dick Allen]

Everything I see from reports suggests Carrasco being gone, but it still doesn't make sense to me. Sure Hudson could do the job, but then you are eating up an entire arbitration year of a guy who could easily be the 5th starter of a still stellar rotation in 2011, and losing a rather vital cog of a bullpen because of $2 mill.

 

I actually think a lot of this is due to Matsui, personally. And we won't know his whereabouts until January.

 

My final guess is that Carlos Torres plays the role of Carrasco next year with actual potential to move to middle relief and set up (which Carrasco does not have), Williams is trying to trade him right now for really anything he can get, and that Hudson remains in the minors.

I hope Torres is not part of the equation, but I agree the Carrasco situation makes no sense. If they don't want to pay him, trade him, and this little part from Gonzalez makes it even more curious:

 

The Sox met Wednesday with Carrasco's agent at the winter meetings in Indianapolis but were several hundred thousand dollars apart.

 

We aren't even talking $1 million. There's probably a decent chance Carrasco blows up in 2010, but somebody somewhere would pay him his rather measley salary and give the White Sox something for him.

[WHITESOXRANDY]

I hope Torres is not part of the equation, but I agree the Carrasco situation makes no sense. If they don't want to pay him, trade him, and this little part from Gonzalez makes it even more curious:

 

The Sox met Wednesday with Carrasco's agent at the winter meetings in Indianapolis but were several hundred thousand dollars apart.

 

We aren't even talking $1 million. There's probably a decent chance Carrasco blows up in 2010, but somebody somewhere would pay him his rather measley salary and give the White Sox something for him.

 

If that's the case then I don't inderstand why they don't just give him 300k more to get him signed. They could always deal a relief pitcher between now and April. What if Putz or another guy has arm trouble? He's excellent low cost insurance.

[beck72]

I have a real hard time seeing them non-tender DJ. If there isn't a place for him on the sox [prob. because the sox have to pay Jenks, Linebrink, Putz and a raise to Pena, though I think the sox should keep him, it's not my money] he's got value out there in the trade market.

[Heads22]

Everything I see from reports suggests Carrasco being gone, but it still doesn't make sense to me. Sure Hudson could do the job, but then you are eating up an entire arbitration year of a guy who could easily be the 5th starter of a still stellar rotation in 2011, and losing a rather vital cog of a bullpen because of $2 mill.

 

I actually think a lot of this is due to Matsui, personally. And we won't know his whereabouts until January.

 

My final guess is that Carlos Torres plays the role of Carrasco next year with actual potential to move to middle relief and set up (which Carrasco does not have), Williams is trying to trade him right now for really anything he can get, and that Hudson remains in the minors.

 

This.

[southsider2k5]

I hope Torres is not part of the equation, but I agree the Carrasco situation makes no sense. If they don't want to pay him, trade him, and this little part from Gonzalez makes it even more curious:

 

The Sox met Wednesday with Carrasco's agent at the winter meetings in Indianapolis but were several hundred thousand dollars apart.

 

We aren't even talking $1 million. There's probably a decent chance Carrasco blows up in 2010, but somebody somewhere would pay him his rather measley salary and give the White Sox something for him.

 

Unless they have a solid lead on a better reliever that is getting non-tendered, I don't get what the problem is here. It doesn't make any sense.

[Dick Allen]

Unless they have a solid lead on a better reliever that is getting non-tendered, I don't get what the problem is here. It doesn't make any sense.

The only thing is perhaps he has some physical issues we know nothing about, other than that, its a head scratcher. Like was posted above, at worst sign him and take him to spring training. If there are injuries he fits in, and as long as he doesn't get lit up he could be traded, but even an arb contract is not guaranteed so they would only be on the hook for 20% of it. Its really a low risk signing, unless he's pretty beat up. If they non tender him, there is obviously something there that we don't know.

Edited December 12, 2009 by Dick Allen

[southsider2k5]

The only thing is perhaps he has some physical issues we know nothing about, other than that, its a head scratcher. Like was posted above, at worst sign him and take him to spring training. If there are injuries he fits in, and as long as he doesn't get lit up he could be traded, but even an arb contract is not guaranteed so they would only be on the hook for 20% of it. Its really a low risk signing, unless he's pretty beat up.

 

Or there is something in the clubhouse that hasn't come out yet...

[Dick Allen]

Or there is something in the clubhouse that hasn't come out yet...

It could be, but you would think they would be able to trade him. Relievers who don't make a ton, can fill several roles and have been effective are pretty coveted.

[Quin]

Little blurb about our 2nd lefty situation and Gonzo's idea.

 

I wouldn't mind a resurgent Cotts...

 

But really, this DJ situation makes no sense to me, especially considering what DA said, they're only a couple hundred thousand apart...

Edited December 12, 2009 by Quinarvy

[Jordan4life_2007]

I wouldn't mind a resurgent Cotts...

 

But really, this DJ situation makes no sense to me, especially considering what DA said, they're only a couple hundred thousand apart...

 

Since when did the definition of resurgent become horses***? People hate Scott Linebrink? Cotts makes Linebrink look like prime Scott Shields. Cotts' numbers/rates since his fluke 2005: ERA: 5.06, WHIP: 1.58, H/9: 10.0, HR/9 1.80, BB/9: 4.2

 

That's a bucket of s*** right there.

[ptatc]

Everything I see from reports suggests Carrasco being gone, but it still doesn't make sense to me. Sure Hudson could do the job, but then you are eating up an entire arbitration year of a guy who could easily be the 5th starter of a still stellar rotation in 2011, and losing a rather vital cog of a bullpen because of $2 mill.

 

I actually think a lot of this is due to Matsui, personally. And we won't know his whereabouts until January.

 

My final guess is that Carlos Torres plays the role of Carrasco next year with actual potential to move to middle relief and set up (which Carrasco does not have), Williams is trying to trade him right now for really anything he can get, and that Hudson remains in the minors.

 

it may just be that they don't think he can replicate his numbers from last year. They may not want to lose a guy with an arm like Santos and they will try him in the mop up role with Cooper working with him at the major league level.

[Dick Allen]

it may just be that they don't think he can replicate his numbers from last year. They may not want to lose a guy with an arm like Santos and they will try him in the mop up role with Cooper working with him at the major league level.

But you would still think they could get something for him. A guy like Carrasco might actually get a better contract being non tendered than offered arbitration.

Edited December 12, 2009 by Dick Allen

[scenario]

If it were my money, I'd sign DJ, and make the harder decisions (who stays and who goes in the bullpen) as a result of what we see in spring training.

 

Much smarter IMO to enter spring training dealing from a position of strength in the pen.

 

Especially since we're not dealing with huge numbers salary-wise.

 

 

[Dick Allen]

If it were my money, I'd sign DJ, and make the harder decisions (who stays and who goes in the bullpen) as a result of what we see in spring training.

 

Much smarter IMO to enter spring training dealing from a position of strength in the pen.

 

Especially since we're not dealing with huge numbers salary-wise.

That's what I say, and remember, it won't even be a guaranteed contract. So either trade him now or keep him around for spring training. You never know what may happen.