The Yankee Farm System Preview will be up shortly.  But first, time to deal with a surprise move, as the White Sox have apparently traded Jon Garland to the Angels for OrlandoCabrera.  And honestly, I think that the White Sox have done themselves a disservice, while the Angels are positioning themselves for another move. 

Garland was worth a lot on this market and could have netted the White Sox a good collection of parts to help rebuild themselves for the long term.  For example, a trade with the Rangers could have netted them a shortstop prospect (Joaquin Arias), a pitching prospect (can't think of one right now), and another prospect.  A trade to another team, such as the Dodgers could have netted them Andre Ethier, Chin-hui Tsao, and another player.  But instead, they trade for a good defensive shortstop and nothing else.  If anything, this impacts the rotation severely, as they will now field a rotation of the following:

• Mark Buerhle (LHP)
• Javier Vasquez (RHP)
• John Danks (LHP)
• Jose Contreras (RHP)
• Gavin Floyd (RHP)/Gio Gonzalez (LHP)/ Lance Broadway (RHP)

The White Sox will surely miss Garland's durability and consistency, and for the most part will be going with a cheaper, but less proven rotation.  True, this move could lead to the discovery of one of their arms being able to take the next step foward, like Gonzalez or Broadway, but it is still a very short term move.

All in all, it should be an excellant defensive infield, but it doesn't do much to push the White Sox ahead of Detroit, Minnesota or Cleveland, and at the most, pushes them ahead of Kansas City.

White Sox Grade - C

As for the Angels, they now have an embarressment of riches, with a potential rotation of the following:

• John Lackey (RHP)
• Kelvim Escobar (RHP)
• Jered Weaver (RHP)
• Jon Garland (RHP)
• Joe Saunders (LHP)/Ervin Santana (RHP)

This gives them an opportunity to now trade for a big bat, with Santana likely being the victim.  Truth be told, he has better stuff than Saunders, but he just doesn't have the command over it.  And, with the acquisition of Garland and the rise of Nick Adenhart, their best pitching prospect, time has simply run out for the Angels to try and fix him.

Theoretically, the Angels could put a big bat in the lineup by using Santana as bait.  They can easily place Figgins or Erick Aybar at shortstop and not suffer much of a loss in offense there, but third base is a hole and could use an upgrade, although they could simply just promote Brandon Wood to play third and see if the kid can hit. 

There aren't a lot of options out there at third base that are available.  They could try and deal for Hank Blalock, but it seems unlikely they'd do a deal within the division. 

What this could symbolize, however, is the beginnings of a push to acquire Miguel Cabrera.  The Angels now have a spot cleared for him and they could offer a package of Santana, Reggie WIllits (who can handle center), Wood and a fourth prospect, perhaps Terry Evans, though no doubt the Marlins will demand Howie Kendrick thrown in as well. 

Overall, I like the trade from the Angels' standpoint, as they give up nothing and now can get to work on adding that big bat to add to the lineup, giving them a two year window to own the division until Seattle and Texas are ready to begin their respective campains to knock them out.

Angels Grade - A

Bah, work blocked Foxsports.com.  Fortunately, my laptop came in and it is sweet.  Windows Vista does take some getting used to, however.

Anyhow, here's what I was going to post on Friday.  The Rangers Report will be up later.

So, to borrow from Will Carrol, powered by Dell, onto the show...

On The Block – Jon Garland

I decided to bring back On The Block, partially because I missed doing it, partially because the trade market has become a bigger factory nowadays, especially since free agency is starting to suck in terms of sexy names.  It just won't appear as often.  So, let's check it out.

The Why:  Garland has actually been heavily shopped as far as last off-season, and was mentioned in a trade to Texas (for John Danks and Nick Masset, which ultimately was done for Brandon McCarthy) and was nearly traded to the Astros for Jason Hirsh, Wily Taveras, and Taylor Buchholz (until Kenny Williams blew the deal by asking for Hunter Pence at the last minute, when the deal was done.)  Now, however, there is more of a movement to move Garland, who is entering his walk year and has been displaced in the rotation by Javier Vazquez and Mark Buehrle, the Sox’s two co-aces.  Garland himself has already announced that he doesn't expect to be in Pale Hose next season.

The Rumored Asking Price:  Apparently, all that Williams is asking for is two relievers, though one of them has to be a proven commodity and needs to have closer potential.  Evidently, Williams feels that he was burned when he acquired Masset, Andy Sisco, and David Aardsma.

Can A Trade Be Done:  Yes.  With the coming winter being bare in starting pitching, Garland, despite a bit of a collapse after the All Star break, will be very attractive, especially with that asking price, which is likely going to be improved upon as the market develops.

The Good:  Garland has proven to be a major league innings eater, something that is becoming quite valueable with pitchers spending more and more time on the DL due to various ailments.  However, one other thing that makes Garland attractive is that he is a groundball pitcher and keeps the ball in the park, a benefit for many teams, especially those that have homer friendly parks.  Overall, he’d be a quality middle of the rotation guy for most of the teams around the league.

Potential Hang-ups:

• Money –Garland is due $12 million dollars in his final year. 
• Health – The only other one I can think of is that the two White Sox pitchers moved last off-season, McCarthy and Freddy Garcia, have both spent time on the DL, making one wonder if Garland may be headed to the DL at some point in the season. 
• Kenny Williams – Williams is ambitious to a fault.  No, that's not quite right.  I feel he tries to screw you as royally as possible (which is why the Astro deal imploded).  He's not a stupid man by any means, I just think that he tries to go for the big splash far too often. 

Potential Suitors – In Alphabetical Order

• Arizona Diamondbacks –The Dbacks have a surplus of talent in the farm system and lack any sort of reliable starting pitching coming into next year, with both Doug Davis and Livan Hernandez heading into free agency.  Plus, as a sinkerballer, Garland will thrive with a Gold Glove caliber middle infield behind him.
• Colorado Rockies – Rumor has it that the Rockies could offer Brian Fuentes in exchange for Garland, in an attempt to make the salaries balance out.  It’s going to take a lot more than that in my opinion, as Williams won't take a one year rental of Fuentes.  He'll probably insist on 3B Ian Stewart in the deal as well (who would fill a hole, allowing Williams to trade current 3B Joe Crede for the actual relief help) or 23 year-old reliever Juan Morillo, who has closer potential and, according to Baseball America, was reportedly clocked at 104 mph a few years back, to complete the deal.  There could be something here.
• Houston Astros – Ah yes, the Astros.  While I don't think the Stros need another starter (They could have a decent rotation of Oswalt, Backe, Williams, Wandy, and Sampson next year, which isn't bad), ownership may decide that they don't trust the young kids enough to compete, which would be a shame.  However, a deal involving Chad Qualls and RHP Paul Estrada, who many feel is a closer in the making, would work, though the Astros would likely insist on a window to negotiate a contract extension.
• Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers may need some pitching depth, depending on how Derek Lowe and Jason Schmidt are doing, along with the troubles that have come with Esteban Loaiza.  Garland not only could be a horse in that lineup, he would also allow them to acquire a pair of picks by letting Garland leave.  While Kenny Williams would likely demand Jonathan Broxton in any deal, the Dodgers could instead offer him Rafael Furcal and Takashi Saito, filling two needs at once, along with allowing the Dodgers to allow their top shortstop prospect, Chin-lung Hu, to move into Furcal’s place at short.
• New York Mets – El Duque is likely done, leaving a potential rotation of Glavine, Martinez, Maine, and Perez, with some semblance of Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber attempting to be the fifth starter.  Minaya likes to go for the big splash and, to be fair, Garland isn't a bad fit here.  However, New York doesn't have anything that fits with what Williams was asking for, unless a deal can be done for Aaron Heilman and Humber/Pelfrey.
• Seattle Mariners – Oddly enough, I do like the fit here with the Mariners.  Garland would move to a nice, spacious ballpark, would have an excellent infield defense behind him with Gold Glove candidates everywhere but first and he'd be an improvement over Horacio Ramirez, likely to be a non-tender candidate this winter.  One problem - The Mariners won't trade Brandon Morrow, who would likely have to be a part of any deal to work, though the Mariners could intrigue Williams by offering him Wladimir Valentin, a young outfield prospect that could handle centerfield, but would be a supurb outfield corner thanks to his huge power potential. 

If I Had To Make A Deal - I would do the following:

• Seattle Gets - RHP Jon Garland
• Chicago Gets - OF Wladimir Valentin (he's blocked anyway PF), LHP Eric O'Flaherty, RHP Sean Green

It's not a sexy trade, but it gives Chicago some decent relief help in the bullpen while giving them a potential centerfielder of the future, since it's looking like Ryan Sweeney's power won't ever come and that he might now be able to handle center.

Rebuilding The White Sox

The 2005 White Sox was a collection of solid pitchers, solid defense and above average hitting.  There wasn’t a lot of power in the lineup outside of Paul Konerko, but overall the combination worked. 

However, many of those players have simply gotten old or aren’t as good as they were ages ago.  With a farm system weakened by trades and poor draft choices, there is a whole lot to rebuild.  Plus, with the Wild Card in the American League being a dogfight by no fewer than four teams, the chances of the Pale Hose making the playoffs are minute.

So, why not take this year to restock the farm, see what you have, and try to rebuild as best you can with what you have and what you can get.by selling off your collection of spare parts and arms and hope to rebuild from there.

So, let's take a look and see how I would fix this mess...

The Infield

Taking a look at my squad and contracts, I’ve got some solid options available for next year.  The heart of my offense, Paul Konerko and Jim Thome, are both on the books for next year and I can choose to bring back Thome in 2009 thanks to his option.  After that, I could slide Konerko over to DH, as I think his deense will be below average by them.  I’ve got a solid catcher in Pierzynski still on for next year and a suitable backup in Hall, so I’m good there. 

Joe Crede’s situation is going to be a tough one.  He’s sidelined for all of this year, but he’ll be back next year and should be  asolid regular.  Josh Fields is developing well so far and I think he’ll be a suitable starter at third in the future, but for now, I need him in Left Field, as I don’t have any great options.  I think he’ll be tolerable, but not spectacular.

That leaves my lineup looking like this, so far:

• 1 –
• 2 –
• 3 – Konerko (1B)
• 4 – Thome (DH)
• 5 – Crede (3B)
• 6 – Fields (LF)
• 7 – Pierzynski (C)
• 8 –
• 9 –

Not bad so far.  I’ve got the heart of my lineup stacked with some big bats that should hit for plenty of power.  I’ve also got an attractive trade piece in Crede, once his bat comes to life, that I could trade for a replacement left fielder once I slide Fields back to Third.  Pierzynski swings a solid stick, but I like his game calling and besides, he’s already on the roster.  Why screw with what looks to be a good thing.

Now for the rest of the infield.

I’ve got holes at shortstop and second base that need some filling.  Tad Iguchi is likely to leave as a free agent, but fortunately for me, Kenny Williams has already provided me with a second baseman internally.  Last month, Williams traded minor league hitter Aaron Cunningham to the Diamondbacks for second baseman Danny Richar, a player that’s described as near ready and plays a solid second base with some pop.  I see no reason why I shouldn’t give him a shot, so in goes Richar at second.

Shortstop is the other problem.  The free agent market for shortstops is #### poor this off-season and besides, I’ve got to spend money on some more important things.  I could try and give Houston’s Mark Loretta a shot at shortstop, as he’s having a solid year as Houston’s utilityman and his defense is still solid.  I could also try to look for some other options out there on the trade market, possibly the Angels’ Erick Aybar, but I like the Loretta option a lot.  His defense isn’t quite what I have in Juan Uribe, but the bat makes up for it.  So, why not roll the dice and see what happens.

With that said, let’s take a look at the lineup so far.

• 1 –
• 2 – Loretta (SS)
• 3 – Konerko (1B)
• 4 – Thome (DH)
• 5 – Crede (3B)
• 6 – Fields (LF)
• 7 – Pierzynski (C)
• 8 – Richar (2B)
• 9 –

It’s looking better.  But here’s where it gets worse.

The Outfield

Holy #### #### Batman!  I’ve got no outfield.   Well, not quite…

As I said, Fields could be a tolerable option in left, but that leaves me with two outfield spots open, center and right field. 

I've got one internal option in Ryan Sweeney, a toolsy outfielder that has the skills to play center and enough of a bat to play well in the corner.  He's going to strike out a lot, but he's got power and projects to be similar to Mike Cameron.

Right field is a different story.  I'm going to have to spend some money to fill the spot, as there isn't a whole lot in the system that I can use to not only capably play the field, but also to hit.  Sweeney is going to have to be in the number 9 spot, leaving me short a leadoff man.  Though right field is typically a power position, I don't need power as I've got oodles in the middle of the lineup.

In that case, I've got two options:

One is Eric Byrnes, who will likely be going to his hometown Giants.

The other is Ichiro Suzuki, a Kenny Williams favorite.

Of the two, either one would be a good fit, though I'm partial to bringing Ichiro in to hit at the top of the lineup.  Assuming he's wants to leave Seattle, I'm all over it.  If not, then I ask Byrnes if he's willing to bring his crow's nest hair to Chi-Town.

Either way, I've got to get one of them in to play right. 

So, let's take a look at my lineup, assuming that I bring Ichiro in.