ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian is reporting that the Chicago White Sox are close to completing a deal that would bring Alfonso Soriano to the South Side, likely for a package including highly regarded pitching prospect Brandon McCarthy. It’s a high price for possibly two-plus months of a player’s time, but Soriano has shown that he can both play leftfield and hit outside of Arlington’s bandbox so the tariff goes higher. For his part, Soriano says he’d like to stay in town. The move would make a powerful lineup even deeper, while allowing Ozzie Guillen to stop writing the name of struggling rookie Brian Anderson into the lineup everyday. For the Nationals, McCarthy would be a plum prize for their rental of Soriano. It appears that the Tigers and Mariners are out of the bidding on Soriano because of the price tag, while the Twins lurk as possible spoilers for their divisional rivals. There is also word White Sox GM Kenny Williams would like to acquire reliever Mike MacDougal from the Royals, presumably to both replace McCarthy’s innings and switch to a more Scottish look in the pen.
This comes on the heels of word that any chance of the Yankees making a move for Bobby Abreu may be dead on arrival. The Yankees won’t deal their prized prospect, minor league hurler Philip Hughes, in addition to picking up the remainder of Abreu’s contract plus another expensive year guaranteed. The Tigers could get involved with Abreu but for a player with as many skills as Abreu there’s not much interest in signing him up for another year as part of a trade for the rightfielder.
What will the Yankees do? The need for a starting pitcher may have become more acute after the disastarous performances over the weekend in Toronto. The roster of those available is lacking in the necessary oomph though and that may force Brian Cashman to look to the lineup to try and build a devastating offense that tries to carry a weak pitching staff. That could get them to October but would almost certainly falter against one of the strong American League clubs. The Giants' Jason Schmidt is one name you hear that would make a difference in the pennant race but unless the Yankees gave up Hughes or Jose Tabata, another young stud, the Giants could likely field a stronger offer for their ace. And that's if they weren't in the thick of a race themselves, which they are in the eminently winnable NL West.
I don't think the Yanks should up the ante in their pursuit of Abreu if it means losing Hughes but a move for a bat wouldn't hurt. With Reggie Sanders hurt, Soriano likely headed elsewhere and options like Jose Guillen and Shawn Green overly burdened with drawbacks though the market is almost as thin as it is for pitching. Rumors about A-Rod have been thrown around in what would be a deal reminiscent of the 2004 one that sent Nomar out of Boston but the potential return would have to be higher than the Jacque Jones and Aramis Ramirez that some have posited. The Yanks aren't on the hook for enough money to A-Rod to justify a deal that brought back a player as limited as Jacque Jones no matter how iffy the third baseman's game has been of late.
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