Freddy to the Mets Rumors

They have inquired about the White Sox's Freddy Garcia, but the request of
Milledge and Phil Humber or Mike Pelfrey is too much for a pitcher a year from
free agency.

New York Post

It's long been known that the Sox are looking to deal a pitcher in order to get Brandon McCarthy into the rotation. I think the fact that the Mets are calling us, inquiring about a trade, rather than the other way around bodes well for us. The article states that the Sox asked for too much for Minaya's liking, which I think is another good thing.

This year, pitching is definitely a seller's market. Outside of Zito, Schmidt (if he's healthy), and Matsuzaka there aren't any top of the line starters out there. Now, I'm not suggesting Freddy is a number one starter, but you could do a lot worse than 17 wins and a 4.50 ERA, especially considering how he closed the season. With the lack of quality arms out there, it is essential that Kenny gets as much as possible for whichever pitcher he ends up dealing. That's the reason, why I'm happy about the Sox asking for so much. It's still very early in the off-season, so there's no reason to panic yet and accept a low ball offer. If the Mets do end up dropping out of the Zito sweepstakes, they'll definitely be very interested in what the Sox have to offer; they'll be doubly interested, if Pedro's future remains in doubt. Come a few weeks or a month, the Mets may in fact be willing to part with Milledge and Humber/Pelfry.

If Vazquez could fetch the likes of Chris Young from us, I think Freddy should net the Sox even more, and I'd be willing to accept a combination of Milledge and Humber/Pelfry.

Milledge could be a very good fit for us. He could slide into either center or left field. While I haven't completely given up on Brian Anderson (yes, I'm one of the few), Milledge would provide the most value at center. He doesn't have great power, which you generally would like from a corner outfielder; he hit 11 HR between the majors (166 AB) and the minors (307 AB), which is up from the 8 he hit in the minors in '05. The Sox have gotten away with Pods in left, so it's quite doable to have him out there, even if he doesn't have good power numbers; just as long as Dye, Thome, and Paulie can carry the offense again. Milledge is a plus defender and every place I look, lists him as having great athleticism. He has speed, but needs to refine his base stealing technique. He was 13 for 23 in the minors. His OBP is pretty good at .388, but he should probably walk more; he had 43 which is a vast improvement over previous seasons. Milledge would fit nicely into our team and at age 21 he has plenty of time to grow and progress, although he wouldn't exactly be the base stealing threat that Ozzie is looking for to lead things off this season.

Humber is young as well, he's 23. Last season was his first after recovering from Tommy John surgery. He is a bit of an unknwon commodity. He posted a 2.83 ERA in 14 starts in the minors this year. He has the potential to become a solid starter come a couple years, but it's hard to judge him from only 76 innings of work. I will say though, that his periherals look good.

Pelfrey is 22 and holds a lot of potential. In 18 starts, he went 7-3 with a 2.43 ERA. He had 109 K's in only 96 innings. I think he holds even more potential than Humber. He has a good fastball which tops out at 98 mph, and also throws a two seamer to go with his curve and circle change. Pelfrey made some appearances for the Mets and could be ready to start as early as this year, although it's more likely he'd play in the bigs consistently come '08.

I would love to trade Freddy for Pelfrey and Milledge, but it's still very early in the game. For all we know, we could get a better offer elsewhere, or the Mets could sign Zito and no longer have a need for Garcia.