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The White Sox valued Mark Teahen enough to give him a three-year contract. (AP/Kathy Willens)
While the White Sox seem to do much on the surface at the Winter Meetings, there were a few very interesting developments that came out of Indianapolis this week.
1. The White Sox really like Mark Teahen.
Thanks to Teahen's new three-year, $14 million contract, Dayan Viciedo might want to find a new position and Brent Morel might want to find a new organization. Unless the Sox trade Teahen after the first two years of his contract or he gets hurt, neither Morel nor Viciedo will likely play much third base in the majors with the White Sox.
Viciedo's future probably wasn't at third base anyway, but Morel—who, mind you, still needs a lot of time down in the minors before he can be considered a MLB option—seems to have a bright future at third. That's one aspect of the Teahen deal that's somewhat curious. If the White Sox have organizational depth at third base, why give a player who's been around replacement level for the last two years a three-year contract?
And that brings us to the next question—why guarantee Teahen that money when he's no guarantee to earn it? The deal bought out arbitration years for Teahen, and while he would have seen raises in those years regardless, those raises may not have added up to $14 million—especially if he hits near the .271/.325/.408 line he put up in '09.
Maybe the Sox want to make Teahen as comfortable as possible with this deal. They've already given third base to him, and now they've given him a contract so he won't have to worry about arbitration for an added level of comfort.
If that comfort level leads to Teahen's walk rate and defense returning to their 2006 levels, then the contract will turn out to be an excellent bargain. But if Teahen continues down the same career path he's been following for the last two years, the guaranteed money won't end up being worth it and the Sox will probably regret not going to arbitration with him.
2. The Sox are in on JJ Putz, no matter how coy they try to be.
Kenny Williams is a master of downplaying rumors, but Matt Thornton's self-proclaimed bromance with Putz can't be overlooked.
"There's no doubt that Kenny has interest in him,'' Thornton said on Tuesday. "[Putz] has been asking me what I think about it, what I think about the Sox. I told him we expect to win. I tell that to anyone that asks me, we expect to win. We prepare to win and if we don't win, well, we're pissed. I told [Putz] that if you're a free agent you want to go to a winner.''
After the article on Thornton and Putz came out, Williams tried to trick everybody into thinking the publicity about Putz has hurt the White Sox' chances of bringing him in:
"We thought we had something going on," Williams said. "But as I've told you guys many times before, when things become public, to a large degree, the entire game changes and more times than not, you're not going to get a deal."
That seems like a classic damage-control quote. It's like a shy high schooler trying to ask a girl out—as soon as other people find out about it, he immediately backs away in the hopes that he can go back to flying under the radar to get the girl.
I understand that Williams wants to do everything he can to keep the price of Putz down, but it's not like the Sox are the Red Sox. They're involvement does not mean that Putz' asking price is going to suddenly skyrocket.
If something was close with Putz, it coming out in the media shouldn't have any bearing on contract negotiations. Maybe the Sox are close with him, maybe they're in the pool or 10 or so teams vying for his services.
Williams certainly isn't going to tip his hand, but he and the Sox are trying to get Putz. Don't let Williams' smokescreens fool you.
3. The Sox probably are interested in Hideki Matsui, but only on their terms.
There haven't been any publicized bromances between Matsui and a player on the Sox, so Williams has been able to keep his interest in Matsui on the down low as best he can.
While there's still a good chance Matsui returns to the Yankees or goes to the Angels, he does represent a fit for the White Sox. He can play left field (not well, though) and could DH a bit, too, maybe in some sort of pseudo-platoon with Andruw Jones between LF and DH.
He's the left-handed run producer that the White Sox have targeted, but, like Putz, Williams is doing everything he can to keep Matsui's price down.
The general impression I get from the White Sox is that, yes, they have interest in signing Matsui, but they don't have interest in moving quickly on him. If he's still on the market in a month or so, that probably means the Angels and Yankees have filled their outfield/DH desires.
And with two of the American League's biggest spenders out of the mix, it could mean Williams could swoop in and sign Matsui to an inexpensive contract. That's what Williams wants, and that's why he's played it safe with Matsui this week.
4. The chances are increasing that Gordon Beckham leads off and Tyler Flowers is the backup catcher in 2010.
Right now, the Sox appear to be targeting a left fielder/DH who can be a run producer instead of a leadoff hitter. That all could change in an instant, but if the season started today, Beckham would be leading off.
I'm still aboard the Willie Harris train, but there weren't any rumors of Harris being dealt at the Winter Meetings so that may be somewhat of a pipe dream. Juan Pierre—who's far from a dream leadoff hitter—is available, but the Dodgers want pitching in return and that's not something the White Sox seem to be willing to give up.
As for who will be the backup catcher, while Ozzie Guillen says he wants Mike Redmond, Williams says backup catcher "is not a pressing issue." With that in mind, Tyler Flowers is the leading candidate to back up A.J. Pierzynski in 2010.
The Sox likely won't push to sign a backup catcher, but if one (like Redmond) falls into their laps later in to free agency, the team will probably try to sign him and let Flowers' play every day in Charlotte.
5. Bobby Jenks probably won't be traded this winter.
The Rays' trade for Rafael Soriano and the limited market for Jose Valverde are two reasons why. First, the Rays seemed like a perfect suitor for Jenks. However, they decided to trade for Soriano—who will make a very similar salary to Jenks in 2010—to close games.
Granted, the Braves got very little in return for Soriano (Atlanta had no leverage in trade negotiations with Soriano, who accepted arbitration much to the Braves' surprise), so that likely made him more attractive to the Rays. Either way, the best potential Jenks suitor is off the market.
With Valverde, Mike Gonzalez, and Fernando Rodney on the free agent market and Kerry Wood and Francisco Cordero potentially available through a trade, there's a glut of high-quality closers on the market—just like last year. And, just like last year, that glut of closers means if the White Sox want to trade Jenks, they probably won't get a fair return for him.
If there's one thing that's working in favor of the Sox trading Jenks, it's the pricey contracts that relievers are signing. LaTroy Hawkins (two years, $7.5 million) and Brandon Lyon (a Scott Linebrink-esque three years, $15 million) have already received some pretty serious money on the open market, so you have to wonder if teams looking for a big-time closer may eventually come to view Jenks as a cheaper alternative to Valverde/Gonzalez/Rodney.
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