Tipping his hand?
GM Kenny Williams said he’s not going to be a “seller” Tuesday, meaning he won’t start dumping veterans before the July 31 trade deadline.
But Kenny did say something that’s open to interpretation:
“Some people might perceive a potential deal to where we sell, just because it may be a younger player, they may be thinking: ‘They've thrown in the towel,’’’ Williams said. “In fact, we might view it as a neutral deal for '09, but for (20)10, ’11 and ’12, you may be better as a result of it.”
I think Kenny meant to say “may be FOR a younger player,” meaning trading a White Sox veteran for a young guy.
I don’t think there would be a backlash from any Sox fan about trading a veteran player, with the exception of Mark Buehrle and maybe Paul Konerko.
Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye are both at the ends of their contracts and are steadily losing popularity. Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink have been painful to watch, and Jose Contreras has been either great or awful.
I don’t think Kenny would trade Bobby Jenks, but who knows?
I take Kenny's comments to mean that guys like Dotel or even Dye could be dealt, but he's still keeping the sox with enough talent to win the AL Central. If the Sox make a move or two, they have guys in the minors would could come up and probably give the same production the guys they trade have given.
The sox have options to replace certainly Dotel, in AAA guys like Carlos Torres, Jon Link, or Brian Ommogrosso. Dotel can't throw his breaking ball for a strike, and still has decent numbers. But he's likely to bring the sox back a decent prospect or two from teams in desperate need of bullpen help.
Jermaine could be hard to replace. Yet if Quentin comes back, he could replace Dye's numbers. Podsednik isn't a Centerfielder, and they could keep him in LF, and have Anderson and Jordan Danks in CF.
This Sox team probably isn't one that should win a World Series. They will have trouble just making the playoffs, which is a laudable goal in its own right. But the key is acquiring talent that could help them be a championship contender, in players for the 25 man roster, or as quality depth for the 40 man roster, or as trade chips to acquire proven talent. That's why I expect a few players currently on the 25 man roster to be moved before July 31.