The Sox Finally Make a Deal
We all knew it was coming, it was just a matter of when. Kenny Williams finally pulled the trigger on a deal he likes. I will admit I'm surprised by the trade, by the fact that it happened so early and by whom he got in return.
Going to the Philadelphia Phillies is Freddy Garcia, and coming to the South Side is Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez.
A lot of people were speculating that the Sox would pick up one of their former players from the Phillies, namely Aaron Rowand, but I don't think anyone foresaw Gio Gonzalez coming back. If you recall, Gio was sent over with Rowand and Haigwood for Jim Thome.
I'm not going to say I'm disappointed with this trade, or all that happy with it, especially considering some of the rumors I mentioned earlier(the one with the Mets and the one with the Angels). I don't want to pass judgement on this trade, because I have the sneaking suspicion that this is just move one in a two part chain of moves for KW. Kenny made a point of saying "The White Sox are still open for business," so take that for what it's worth.
My first impression of the trade was that I wasn't blown away by it, so I did some research to try and get a better grasp of the trade as a whole.
The rap on Floyd is that he has good potential, but his mechanics are holding him back. (Cue Don Cooper). He has a good fastball reaching 95 mph on the gun, but it isn't all that special; his money pitch is his curve. He also sports a decent changeup. Looks like Coop is going to very busy this summer. After straightening out Matt Thornton and Jose Contreras before him, Coop is set to go to work on Floyd as well as Aardsma who was acquired earlier.
Gio is the more interesting of the two, personally, and not just because he used to be one of our guys. He started last year well enough, but tailed off toward the end of the year. It's possible he was injured or just plain tired. As Jim from Sox Machine proposes, Gio could very well be put in the bullpen this coming season. The Sox are in need of a LOOGY, and putting Gio there would be one effective way of filling that role, although I'd rather see him get good work done in AAA or AA.
Gio's numbers don't look all that sparkling (7-12, 4.66), but he did put up 166 K's in 154 innings. Also keep in mind he was drafted out of high-school and is only 20 years-old, that's really young, AND he's a lefty, which is always a bonus.
I'll have to mull this trade over (especially if Kenny isn't done dealing) before I decide where I stand on this trade. I will say this though, Kenny got two young arms with high ceilings, he definitely could have done much worse, especially considering the rumblings we've heard about Freddy being traded straight up for a reliever.
Here's a question for the readers. Do you think KW and Reinsdorf will go a head and use that $10 million they saved by trading Freddy and trade for a higher priced player/sign a free-agent or will that money just be pocketed? And if you have any thoughts or insight on the trade (especially about the guys the Sox got from the Phillies) drop me a comment.
Going to the Philadelphia Phillies is Freddy Garcia, and coming to the South Side is Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez.
A lot of people were speculating that the Sox would pick up one of their former players from the Phillies, namely Aaron Rowand, but I don't think anyone foresaw Gio Gonzalez coming back. If you recall, Gio was sent over with Rowand and Haigwood for Jim Thome.
I'm not going to say I'm disappointed with this trade, or all that happy with it, especially considering some of the rumors I mentioned earlier(the one with the Mets and the one with the Angels). I don't want to pass judgement on this trade, because I have the sneaking suspicion that this is just move one in a two part chain of moves for KW. Kenny made a point of saying "The White Sox are still open for business," so take that for what it's worth.
My first impression of the trade was that I wasn't blown away by it, so I did some research to try and get a better grasp of the trade as a whole.
The rap on Floyd is that he has good potential, but his mechanics are holding him back. (Cue Don Cooper). He has a good fastball reaching 95 mph on the gun, but it isn't all that special; his money pitch is his curve. He also sports a decent changeup. Looks like Coop is going to very busy this summer. After straightening out Matt Thornton and Jose Contreras before him, Coop is set to go to work on Floyd as well as Aardsma who was acquired earlier.
Gio is the more interesting of the two, personally, and not just because he used to be one of our guys. He started last year well enough, but tailed off toward the end of the year. It's possible he was injured or just plain tired. As Jim from Sox Machine proposes, Gio could very well be put in the bullpen this coming season. The Sox are in need of a LOOGY, and putting Gio there would be one effective way of filling that role, although I'd rather see him get good work done in AAA or AA.
Gio's numbers don't look all that sparkling (7-12, 4.66), but he did put up 166 K's in 154 innings. Also keep in mind he was drafted out of high-school and is only 20 years-old, that's really young, AND he's a lefty, which is always a bonus.
I'll have to mull this trade over (especially if Kenny isn't done dealing) before I decide where I stand on this trade. I will say this though, Kenny got two young arms with high ceilings, he definitely could have done much worse, especially considering the rumblings we've heard about Freddy being traded straight up for a reliever.
Here's a question for the readers. Do you think KW and Reinsdorf will go a head and use that $10 million they saved by trading Freddy and trade for a higher priced player/sign a free-agent or will that money just be pocketed? And if you have any thoughts or insight on the trade (especially about the guys the Sox got from the Phillies) drop me a comment.
posted by Jeeves at 10:44 PM
16 Comments:
As a Philly fan I can give you a little insight on Floyd. His fastball is straight as an arrow, no movement. He tries to paint the corners with it but misses often which leads to his second problem, no confidence. He (like many pitchers that come out of the Phils farm system) falls apart one he doesn't get a call or two, or get a gets a couple runners on.
I thought that this was a pretty good trade for the Sox. It was basically a salary dump, plus they got two arms that have potential. A few years ago Floyd was a top 10 prospect, and heading into last season Gio was highly thought of. They may both be projects at this point, but a change of scenary and some different pitching coaches might turn them around. There is nothing wrong with their stuff, so hopefully they can be polished up. Good Deal!
I kinda think this is a salary dump/ free up some money for another player move. My hope is that it's to take a run at Vernon Wells next year (provided BA doesn't break out) or another 3rd baseman (in case Crede leaves).
Hate to rain on the parade but Floyd is a lost cause. Everything you said about him was true, top prospect and all. He was supposed to be our big 1-2 punch with Hamels. Unfortunately, he wets himself in front of major league crowds. He seriously completely falls apart under pressure. This is coming from someone who until this year thought Pat Burrell would turn things around. I'll miss Gio because he seemed like he had solid potential but Floyd is a lost cause. (See Simmons, Tantalizer)
Now that I've been thinking about it, I think Sox fans as a whole overvalued Freddy's value on the trading market. We all saw the ridiculous contracts being given out, and assumed a rival GM would shit themselves as the opportunity to get someone as established as Freddy. The thing that we plesantly ignore is that all these other pitchers were getting signed for 3-5 years. Freddy was and is only signed through '07, and then will undoubtedly test the free agent market considering how much he stands to make.
If Freddy was signed for two or three years, then we for sure would have gotten a huge haul. I think the fact that Freddy isn't under contract for beyond '07 made teams reluctant to part with a lot, because they would have to give up a haul this year and then a whole bunch of money as well to retain him.
weird thing to add: Floyd was the guy who got bailed out on that sick Aaron Rowand grab. Bases loaded, bottom of the first. If you can catch the highlight, watch Floyds face when Rowand makes the grab. That's all you need to know about his potential.
Thanks anonymouses...I've e-mailed a few Phillies' fans and a lot of them said mentioned that Floyd is indeed a head case. One guy compared him to Javy Vazquez post-6th inning. Hopefully a less hostile environment will help him out.
Jeeves,
You can count me as one of those Sox fans that must have overvalued Freddy's value on the market. I would have thought the fact the Garcia is only signed through '07 would have actually increased his trade value since a team wouldn't be stuck with a bad long-term contract for a pitcher (i.e. what I foresee for the Cubs with Ted Lilly). If you saw Phil Rogers' column in the Tribune today, he seems to intimate that this stand against overpaying for pitchers is coming straight from Reinsdorf. I really hope that this isn't a sign of the owner starting to pinch pennies again in the long-term. Like you, I'll need to hold out on passing judgment on this deal until Kenny Williams is completely done making moves this offseason.
I think we all overvalued Freddie. HUmber and Millege is a far cry from these two guys.
I know I'm not the first to propose it, and its pure speculation, but I would love to see us trade for Vernon Wells and then immediately ink him up. I don't want to send another pitcher away, but willthis windfall of money spark the A-Rod rumors again?
Jeeves is a big Freddy fan...and here's proof:
Odes to Freddy
I think I made my thoughts pretty clear on Foul Balls today.
http://tomfornellisportsblog.blogspot.com/2006/12/white-sox-rebuilding.html
My question is, what's the over/under on the amount of home runs Freddy Garcia will give up in that Little League field they call Citizens Bank?
I'm setting it at 40.
I dunno what it's like down the alleys, but The Cell is actually worse for HR's, albeit not by much. The Cell yielded the second most with a rate factor of 1.307 whereas Philly was 1.201.
If Freddy can't find that magic with his splitter he'll be sunk.
I don't care how big of a head case Floyd is, the fact that the Sox got anything for Garcia and his mysterious 5-MPH-less-than-2005 fastball, much less a kid with above average stuff and still young, is awesome. And if they flip Floyd for something more substantial, all the better.
Welcome Dre!
i would email a fiend of mine with the number of hbp-s for floyd after each one of his starts- kind of a running joke. he would seriously hit a minimum of 2 batters (with at least 5 walks) every time he started....this was in AAA mind you.
but as you say, he has big potential and hasn't stopped trying to fix things. a change of scenery could do him good. can't question kenny williams knows what he is doing in chicago. this could be one that helps both teams.
Let's think here as a group, who has Coop fixed and failed to fix recently?
Without much thought I can recall
Fixed: Thornton, Jose, Bobby Jenks, Javy at times, did he have a hand in turning BMac around in '05?,
Failed to Fix: Javy to an extent, Cotts '06?, I can't think of too many failures.
If we can't add too many players to the failed list, that bodes well for next year. Odds are against both Aardsmad and Floyd failing.
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