Hmmm....

by R.J. Anderson on Dec 23, 2006 3:06 PM EST

In a move that jumped out of the bushes and is completely un-Ray-lated, the White Sox have traded starter Brandon McCarthy to Texas for top prospects John Danks and Nick Masset, yet it's completely related. Why?

To me this could be either side beefing up their offer for Rocco, the Whitesox now have Danks and Masset, a starter and reliever, both are close to MLB ready, and the Rangers have B-Mac who has been rumored to be an object enamored by the Rays in past trade rumors, usually with Carl Crawford involved.

Speaking of the Rangers, they have signed old friend Jared Sandberg to a minor league deal.

Stay on DRB for the updates (if any) that come from the aftershock of this deal.

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Texas interested in Rocco?

I've never heard of the Rangers being interested in Rocco, myself.

by Jacob Larsen on Dec 23, 2006 7:39 PM EST reply actions

Well

The Rangers have signed Kenny Lofton to play center, and Brad Wilkerson is slated to play left. However one would think that Nelson Cruz is expendable in left. Still, the desperation element to acquire Baldelli is less than it would be for most teams mentioned in trade talks, at least in terms of current players. I don't think R.J. was citing any report anyways, I think he was just approximating where Baldelli would be a good fit, and the deal triggered thoughts of Texas.

by Patrick L. Kennedy on Dec 23, 2006 7:51 PM EST up reply actions

That's right....

Lofton and 'The Cat' were signed to patrol the OF for Texas, for some reason I kept thinking they didn't have a sure CFer yet.

by R.J. Anderson on Dec 23, 2006 7:55 PM EST reply actions

Could be interesting...

To get Rocco, DRO would want some decent picks... right? however where are these great pitchers going to go? Out pitching is beginning to be a log jam, at the major league level... In the respect you have
Kazmir
Shields
Fossom
Seo
Then you have...
Corky, Howell, Hammel, Stokes... lets not forget in relief we have Miceli,Lugo, Jackson, Mori (when healthy), Switzer, McClung, then you have Niemann, Ridgway, Seddon, Talbot,... We are almost having a log jam in all fronts... which is NOT a bad thing... Can we make a deal for
Teixeria? This is going to be a very "interesting" spring training Never in my 7 years of following the team has it been so... tight... One thing is if you Trade Rocco, it opens up a whole in Center. Yes we could Plop BJ in Center, however is that not a DOWNGRADE?

by thebaddancingraysfan on Dec 23, 2006 8:21 PM EST reply actions

No way

I doubt the Rangers would take Teixeria for Kaz straight up. A few bullpen pieces are not enough to get Texieria, there is simply no way in which it could happen.

by Patrick L. Kennedy on Dec 24, 2006 1:02 AM EST up reply actions

clearing up the misunderstanding...

I was suggesting maybe more along the line of Rocco for Teixeria .... It's a mutual back scratching... they get the a hell of a CF with a VERY agreeable contract we get Teixeria. Not unless the D-Rays are getting starting infield of the The Big Red Machine do the Rays swap kaz

by thebaddancingraysfan on Dec 24, 2006 3:06 AM EST up reply actions

Still, no way

Rocco isn't worth anything near Teixeria. Besides, Teixeria already told the Rays not to draft him in 2001 when we picked Brazelton instead, I doubt he'd want to come here now anyways.

by Patrick L. Kennedy on Dec 24, 2006 3:52 PM EST up reply actions

Now, the White Sox...

...that could be a different story. They have a very clear hole in CF and the young arms to throw at the problem (though myself I'd have preferred McCarthy over Danks, but that's not a highly researched position). Would we prefer Danks or Gavin Floyd in this case?

by Not That Chuck on Dec 23, 2006 8:47 PM EST reply actions

To answer your question...

...we'd want neither as the centerpiece of any deal involving Rocco. We're done trading major leaguers for prospects, and I would consider them both prospects. We want someone with at least the better part of a year's experience at the ML level, with performance indicative of future success.

by Overman42 on Dec 23, 2006 10:34 PM EST up reply actions

Then

what else do they have that we want? Along with above pitcher Danks?

by Not That Chuck on Dec 24, 2006 2:06 PM EST up reply actions

Being from Illinois

I can clearly say that Danks is and will always be a better pitcher than McCarthy. McCarthy has a huge gopherball problem(His GB %age is 37%) and that will be evident in Ameriquest next year.

by Jacob Larsen on Dec 23, 2006 10:46 PM EST up reply actions

And being from outside Phila

you definitely do NOT want Gavin Floyd as a centerpiece of any deal. If he had anywhere near Danks's trade value after last season then you would've seen the Phils try to trade him for, oh, Greg Norton perhaps, but definitely not Rocco Baldelli (as great a Philly name as that is).

There was an interesting article up on ESPN.com a few days about about why the ChiSox made the Freddy Garcia deal, which seemed to say they were trying to build their rotation back up for a few years from now by dealing Garcia for Floyd and Gio Gonzalez. It seems to me like they are just trading McCarthy in this deal for a similar pitcher with one or two fewer years of service time, but they now seem to have an awful lot of young arms available...just make sure the one you go after is NOT Gavin Floyd and the Rays should be fine.

by das411 on Dec 24, 2006 2:11 AM EST reply actions

White sox fan here:

If any team will "overpay" for Rocco, I see the white sox. But it seems like a 3 team deal with the Marlins would have to made. the sox won't part with Danks and Floyd has more value to the sox as a reclamation project. But with Danks on, local FLA. kid Gio Gonzalez could be expendable

My question to you guys--which SP from the Marlins would you want as part of a package for Rocco? There has been talk that the Marlins might like Sox CFer Brian Anderson.

Could a deal of Nolasco, Gonzalez, and 22 LH reliever Boone Logan [a 3.00 era in AAA] or Andrew Sisco get Baldelli?

by cfisk72 on Dec 25, 2006 7:52 AM EST reply actions

Nolasco and Gonzalez?

I'm apt to say no. I like Gonzalez as part of the deal, but the Fish will have to part with more than Nolasco to get Baldelli. I don't really think the addition of Logan or Sisco would make much of a difference.

I am very high on Scott Olsen as part of a deal for Baldelli, however the prospects for acquiring Olsen (or any other useful Marlin, at that) have been put on hold due to the stingy nature of Larry Beinfest, who seems unwilling to put forth the resources to make a fair deal.

by Patrick L. Kennedy on Dec 25, 2006 12:08 PM EST up reply actions

Concur

For the moment the Fish seem to have cooled on Anderson, though there was a lot of talk earlier in the offseason. Scuttlebutt 'round here has the Marlins looking at David Murphy, a BloSox prospect, or otherwise taking their chances in-house at least to start next season. So no, I don't see the Marlins getting in on this kind of deal.

by Not That Chuck on Dec 25, 2006 1:50 PM EST up reply actions

The scenario

I see playing out [if Kenny Williams really wants Rocco] is the Sox trading for a SP that the DRays would want [for instance, Scott Olsen]. Then moving the SP to the D Rays.

The White sox always seem to pay the little "extra" [in terms of players] to get the player they want.

by cfisk72 on Dec 26, 2006 6:24 AM EST up reply actions