On The Periphery: New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox swap talent
by Russ Oates on Nov 14, 2008 8:45 AM MST
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Print"On The Periphery" will look at the news around the majors. We start with yesterday's trade between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox.
The major players involved were:
and
Also heading to Chicago were RHPs Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. RHP Kaneoka Teixeira was sent to New York with Swisher.
Swisher's stay with the White Sox lasted only a year after being traded back in January by the Oakland Athletics. The A's received left-handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez, righty Fautino De Los Santos, and outfielder Ryan Sweeney. Both Gonzalez and Sweeney played for the A's in 2008 (Gonzalez for the last two months and Sweeney spending the entire year with the A's). De Los Santos had Tommy John surgery back in May.
The White Sox, however, could not get a return similar to that. But then, maybe the White Sox don't believe 2008 was an aberration for Swisher. His BA and SLG were career lows and his OBP was the second worst of his career. Still, he knocked 24 balls out of the park. Swisher's a .244 career hitter with this past season included, but if he can get back to the mid-.250s or low-.260s, the Yankees surely get an even better deal.
Swisher offers versatility for the Yankees, as he can play all the outfield positions and first base. But the Yankees likely won't have him penciled in for much, or any, time in center field, where he played 70 games for the White Sox in 2008. Though if the they do want Mark Teixeira, the Yankees could easily push Swisher off first base and into the outfield.
As for the White Sox, Wilson Betemit will compete with Josh Fields for the starting job at third base.
Marquez and the other guys swapped in the deal are nothing to get excited about. They're all likely to reach the potential of an adequate middle reliever.
This looks to be a poor trade on the part of the White Sox. The Yankees received a guy who is in his prime years, has power, and is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2008 campaign. The White Sox took back a piece of the Yankees' detritus and had to throw in a minor league reliever to get the deal done.
South Side Sox says there have been whispers that Swisher wasn't well-liked in the clubhouse. Still. . . .
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I know I'm not supposed to listen to Woody Paige
but his latest column hit a nerve. I wish Dan O’Dowd would come out and say what the target payroll for 2009 is, and whether they intend to redeploy savings from trading Holliday into other areas (like 2B or SP). The thought of the Rockies cutting payroll down into the $50 MM range is pretty galling.
Also it appears RJ is headed to Dodgers…joy
Second half run?
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