Gordon Beckham, Jordan Danks, and why the White Sox should trade for Willie Harris

Leading off with Beckham could hinder his development. (Mark Duncan/AP)

Leadoff is not a position. A team can't have somebody "play" leadoff.

That being said, a good leadoff hitter is often the foundation of a good lineup. Right now, the White Sox don't seem to have somebody who can hit leadoff.

If push comes to shove, though, Gordon Beckham could be batting first come opening day. It makes some sense, as Beckham is a good on-base guy who has some speed.

But leading off with Beckham could ultimately hurt his development as an all-around player. Presumably, if Beckham leads off, he'd put less of an emphasis on hitting home runs and more of getting on base.

There's nothing wrong with that, but Beckham has good power potential. It's not out of the question for him to hit 20-25 home runs in 2010 and maybe more in future seasons.

And that's why leading him off is dangerous. Nobody's doubting the 23-year-old's baseball acumen, but a change in his approach could lead to some long-term consequences down the road.

That's obviously not a guarantee that leading off Beckham means he won't ever be a power hitter. And that's also not saying that if Beckham hits in the middle of the order he'll hit 25 home runs a year.

However, the best option for right now is to give Beckham the opportunity to develop into a middle-of-the-order hitter. His ceiling—which, remember, is still pretty high—is as a very good No. 3 or No. 5 hitter with good gap-to-gap and home run power. As a leadoff hitter, there's at least the risk of him losing that home run potential without some good coaching.

So batting Beckham first would mean the organization would have to have a lot of faith in Greg Walker. Given the general consensus among Sox fans about Walker, that probably wouldn't go over too well.

Luckily, Ozzie Guillen is apprehensive about leading off with Beckham:

"He's the one in the lineup I have right now. Is he ideal? That's the only (one) have.

"But I really like to have someone else out there. Bekcham is a very, very good RBI man. And I don't want to take the bat away from him, and hopefully we find someone to take his spot."

As a last resort, yes, Beckham probably wouldn't be too bad leading off. But putting him there could have long-lasting implications after 2010.

Speaking of moves that could stunt a player's growth, Mark Gonzales wrote this in a recent article:

Recently acquired Andruw Jones told Williams he wants to compete for a starting job in the outfield, but he and Mark Kotsay are currently viewed as backups and insurance in the event the Sox carry a youngster such as Jordan Danks.

If what's in that sentence is true, it might mean that the Sox end up going into spring training with Danks and Jones battling for a starting spot in the outfield.

That's a worrisome proposition. What if Jones and Danks both get injured and/or are ineffective? Then the Sox are left to start Mark Kotsay in the outfield. That's likely not something that would work out too well.

Second, if Danks hits well in spring training, that's hardly a guarantee that it carries over to the regular season. Given the existing holes in his swing—most notably that he struggles with fastballs on the inner half of the plate—it would only be a matter of time before major league pitchers figure out how to get Danks out with ease.

Could Danks make an adjustment and start hitting those inside pitches? Maybe. But it would certainly be easier for him to make that adjustment against minor league pitchers instead of major league pitchers.

So when March rolls around, the Sox need to view Danks the same way they viewed Beckham last year. That means Danks should be given an opportunity but never be seriously considered for a spot on the major-league roster. If Danks goes on to tear up minor league pitching and, say, Carlos Quentin gets hurt, then he should be in line for a call-up.

In terms of defense, Danks is major-league ready. He still has yet to prove that he's major-league ready offensively.

With the arguments against Beckham and Danks in mind, Kenny Williams needs to make a move either through free agency or a trade to acquire an outfielder who can lead off. Preferably, that outfielder is a left fielder so Alex Rios can stay in center.

If the White Sox could get the Dodgers to play a significant portion of his contract, Juan Pierre could be an option. Unfortunately, his .361 OBP in 2009 was likely an aberration and he gets caught stealing far too much to justify him running so much. But at the least, he's not an awful defensive left fielder despite his poor arm.

There's a better player who could be available, though. And he's a blast from the past.

That player is none other than Willie Harris.

There haven't been any reports saying that the Nationals are currently willing to trade Harris, but they were back in July. The 31-year-old Harris has one year at $1.5 million left on his current contract and had a .364 OBP with Washington last year. And that .364 OBP was done with a BABIP that was 20 points lower than his career average.

His 15.0 walk rate was downright spectacular, too. While it's unlikely that stat will be so high in 2010, a BABIP normalization could offset whatever walk rate regression Harris has.

All in all, he's exactly what the White Sox need—an inexpensive left fielder who can get on base and play some defense.

So, if the Nationals are willing to trade Harris and their asking price isn't too high, the White Sox should jump at the opportunity. Not only would it solidify the outfield with good defense (UZR has rated Harris as an above-average left fielder in every season he's seen significant playing time there), but Harris would answer the White Sox' leadoff question.

Answering that question with Harris would allow Beckham to hit lower in the order and allow Danks to develop in the minors. Both of those ultimately should be positives.

So with the Winter Meetings starting tomorrow, Kenny Williams should set his sights on an old friend and do whatever he can (minus trading away too much value) to get Harris.

Links:

• Jim compares a quote about Scott Linebrink to a quote about Nick Masset over at Sox Machine.
• Big League Stew talks FIP.
• Check out my photos from Missouri basketball's win over Oregon and football's win over Kansas.