Quick hits: Jermaine Dye, Javier Vazquez, the economy, and the free agent market

November 26, 10:08 PMChicago White Sox ExaminerJJ Stankevitz

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Chicago White Sox Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Jermaine Dye's name has appeared in recent rumors.

Not a ton going on with the White Sox lately, but there's some stuff worth writing about. 

• A Cincinnati radio station reported that the Reds are interested in trading for Jermaine Dye, but that report seems to be false. Former top prospect Homer Bailey was mentioned in the rumor, but since it's unlikely to happen, I won't delve into it. The White Sox apparently are looking for a starting pitcher and another young player in return for Dye, which frankly is far too high of a price to pay for Dye. Yes, Dye's offense shouldn't take a huge hit for a few years, but his defense has already receded to the point that he was rated the worst defensive right fielder in baseball over the last three years by Bill James. I'm neither for nor against trading Dye, but it doesn't appear that the Sox are desperate to trade him if they're looking for such a high price in return.

• There hasn't been a whole lot of news about Javier Vazquez lately, but FoxSports's Ken Rosenthal had this little note about him in a recent column, saying that the Mets really aren't all that interested in Vazquez. I'd be surprised if there was much of a market for Vazquez right now. The $11 million he'll earn in each of the next two seasons isn't cheap, and with the economy causing a lot of teams to either cut payroll or stand pat, the market for a mid-level starter (in terms of results) who will make $22 million over the next two years just isn't that high. Rosenthal mentions that the Mets are likely to go after Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine, who would come at a higher price in terms of players but wouldn't cost the Mets a whole lot in terms of cash, which they could use towards a top-line starter or Francisco Rodriguez. In short, if the White Sox want a decent return for Vazquez, they'll likely have to wait until past New Year's.

• That brings me to the economy, which could wreak havoc on the free agent market this year. There still are teams that appear ready to spend—the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Athletics, Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers, and Giants—but a lot of mid-market teams aren't going to be able to spend a whole lot this offseason. While this won't affect the big-name free agents, much of the middle tier of free agents likely won't get the kind of contracts they hope for because there won't be as much competition.

• On the same note, remember when the A's were supposed to be rebuilding? Maybe he thinks the playoffs are in reach for 2009, but Nico at Athletics Nation doesn't necessarily feel that way. He traded for Matt Holliday and appears to be the leader in the Rafael Furcal sweepstakes. With many of the prospects Beane picked up in the Dan Haren, Nick Swisher, Rich Harden, and Joe Blanton trades on the way, the A's could be an early contender for at least the AL Wild Card in 2009. It's been easy to question some of Beane's moves in the past, but for the most part, he's had very good results with them.

• Finally, a link dump: Jim at Soxmachine has an excellent in-depth post about third base coach Jeff Cox' success (or lack thereof) last year; Cheat over at SouthSideSox has a post up about the offseason plan of cutting payroll is starting to become clear; Royals Review found a way to make you feel good about being a Royals fan; and, in a non-basketball link, it's basketball sabermetrics! Also: in honor of Hate Week, I'm obliged to remind my readers that Missouri in fact did beat Kansas last year and, despite what the Orange Bowl selection committee had to say, had a better football season than the Jayhawks in 2007. I'll be sitting second row behind one of the end zones at Arrowhead on Saturday for the Border War, and hopefully I'll witness Todd Reesing eat even more of that delicious turf he seems to love so much.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving.