Black Sox Blog

It’s been a tough offseason.  The White Sox seem to have gotten worse with Mark Buehrle leaving for the Marlins.  Carlos Quentin was traded as was Jason Frasor and Serio Santos.  It looks like the other teams were going to keep quiet then the Tigers ran into problems when it was announced that Victor Martinez was going to be on the shelf.  Then they responded and then some by signing Prince Fielder to a nine year deal.

That most likely makes the Tigers the favorites to win the division not just this year but next year.  The Indians also seem to be getting better and it looks like the White Sox are doing more then just regrouping.

Kevin Goldstein released his list of the top eleven White Sox prospects and while he doesn’t give anyone a five star, there’s still some talent.  Topping the list and the lone four star prospect is Addison Reed.  Reed has been pegged as the closer of the future and he’ll get that chance in 2012.  I’m not high on the White Sox in 2012 so his chances might be limited but Reed looks like a keeper.  He was even sharp at times in his short time with the White Sox last year.

Right handed starter Nestor Molina is number two.  He spent most of his time at High-A and he’ll most likely throw most of his innings at Birmingham in 2012.  Goldstein says he’s not a front line starter but he could be solid number three guy in a decent rotation.

Number three is Trayce Thompson and he’s also a couple of years away.  Thompson is a masher and it’ll be interesting to see how he develops.  He’s also good for a walks so you could see the second coming of Adam Dunn.  Jake Petricka and Simon Castro round out the top five.

1)  Addison Reed  RHP
2)  Nestor Molina  RHP
3)  Simon Castro  RHP
4)  Trayce Thompson  OF
5)  Jake Petricka  RHP
6)  Keenyn Walker  OF
7)  Jhan Marinez  RHP
8)  Tyler Saladino  ss
9)  Juan Silverio  3b
10)  Ozzie Martinez  ss

John Sickels produced his Top Twenty White Sox prospect list and it’s sad to say that the system is pretty thin right now.  Their top guy was given a B+ and you get into the C+’s pretty quickly.  Topping the list is Nestor Molina who came over from the Blue Jays.  The big question here is whether he’s headed to the pen or if he might stick in the rotation.

Number two is Addison Reed, another right handed pitcher.  Sickels call him the top closer prospect in baseball.    This hard thrower is the White Sox closer of the future and he should be fun to watch.  Round out the top five are Tyler Saladino (SS), Trayce Thompson (OF) and Hector Santiago (LHP).    Santiago is the most major league ready (he’s already made his debut).

The White Sox gave John Danks the biggest contract they’ve ever given to a pitcher with a five year, $65 million extension.  He’s still only 26 and he’s put together some nice seasons for the White Sox.  Last year’s disastrous first couple of months (he started 0-8) really tested his mettle and he bounced back nicely after that.  Also, with Mark Buehrle moving on, Danks was the next most logical choice to build the White Sox rotation around.

It’s funny how things work out.  Way back in 2006, I was really high on Brandon McCarthy and then they traded him to the Rangers for Danks (and Nick Masset).  At the time I was bummed but that deal has worked out nicely because Danks has had some quality season where as McCarthy had pretty much flamed out until a resurgence this year.

It’s official.  After 12 seasons, 2,476 2/3 innings and 161, Mark Buehrle is no longer a White Sox.  With eleven seasons over 200 innings, Buehrle has been a work horse for the team and he’s usually done with above average pitching.  He doesn’t have much of a chance to win a Cy Young (he’s only gotten votes once and he finished in fifth place), he’s a work horse that many teams would love to have.  In all of his seasons, he’s only had an ERA+ of under 100 once and that was his subpar 2006 season (the only season he’s had more losses then wins).

And now he’s a Marlin.  I’m glad he signed with the an NL team and not a team like the Tigers where we’d see him more often because it’ll pain me see him another uniform.  It’s hard to believe he’s only 32 because he seems like he’s been around forever.

With the current compensation rules around for one more year, the White Sox are trying to pick up a draft pick as they offered Mark Buehrle arbitration.  Buehrle is a Type B free agent so the White Sox will get a sandwich pick out of the deal if he goes somewhere else.  A pretty good move and it was expected.

Juan Pierre on the other hand wasn’t offered arbitration.  He was also a Type B guy but the White Sox probably didn’t want to take the chance of his accepting.

Losing Buehrle is going to be a blow though.  He’s not flashy, but he’s been one of the more consistent left handers in the game for the past ten years.  He’s also a horse and it’s hard to find someone who throws 200 innings year in and year out.  He’s also one of the last cogs from the 2005 team.

When do White Sox tickets go on sale? There’s some solid teams on the schedule and I want to make sure I get mine.

The White Sox made some adjustments to their 40 man roster as the deadline to set it for the Rule 5 draft came and went.  Deunte Heath and Charlie Leesman were both added to the 40 man and that means no player can pick them up during the Winter Meetings in the Rule 5 draft.

It was an interesting choice because Jordan Danks and Terry Doyle were both left unprotected.  Danks played a second consecutive season at Triple A and with all of the outfielders the White Sox have, he must have been deemed expendable.   Doyle didn’t have a great season down in the minors but he shined in the Arizona Fall League.    Still, both Heath and Leesman could make the 2012 team so it’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out, namely will a team scoop up Danks or Doyle next month.