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April 15, 2011 Rumors Joe Janish

Will White Sox Call for K-Rod?

Way back in the early days of this past December, I suggested that the Chicago White Sox could have interest in Francisco Rodriguez. The reaction was mixed — in terms of how realistic such a trade might be.

Yesterday, Christina Kharl made the exact same suggestion on the ESPN SweetSpot:

The White Sox lost another squeaker Wednesday with their second extra-inning loss to the A’s. It marked their fifth blown save in the bottom of the eighth inning or later, and the fourth blown save on the season for Matt Thornton … After the game, manager Ozzie Guillen was every bit as combustible as his closers, exploding with an announcement of the obvious: “I don’t have any closer.”

Clearly, the ChiSox are desperate for a closer. Kharl goes on to say:

… perhaps the best fit will involve the Sox living up to their season motto — “All In” — and making a deal for a short-time veteran who could use the change of scenery.

So the time is now for Williams to call Sandy Alderson, start talking about Francisco Rodriguez, and see how much money the Sox can get the Mets to eat while making it happen.

It’s a match made in heaven, don’t you think? The White Sox get the closer they desperately need, K-Rod goes to a team with a chance to compete at a level above AAA, and the Mets shed the stress and worry of that $17.5M option vesting.

What do you think? If White Sox GM Ken Williams made the call to YOU, would you trade K-Rod right now?

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. xDanTanna April 15, 2011 at 9:56 am
    I would love to see it happen, i am not even concerned w/ getting anything back here. It would be addition by subtraction type of thing. How much would the Mets have to eat $ wise to get it done I wonder.
  2. Amy K April 15, 2011 at 9:57 am
    I would absolutely make that trade right now. No need for an expensive closer when the Mets at present aren’t leading games in the 9th. I am cheering for Jason Bay to return and produce so that they can trade him as well. Get as many expensive guys off the payroll so that Mets can keep Jose Reyes.
    • xDanTanna April 15, 2011 at 10:02 am
      I know there are a lot of Mets fans who love Reyes. But, the sooner you realize there is little chance he will be back. The better off you will be I think. He fits the category of terrific player, but a losing style of ballplayer. I am sure Sandy & the Mets will offer him a deal though. Say maybe 4yrs.. but Reyes is more than likely going to get 6 or 7 & he is not worth investing in w/ that kind of deal. That is bad baseball business and Sandy Alderson is not going there. Which is the right thing to do in my book.
    • Todd April 15, 2011 at 4:02 pm
      Amen to that Amy! Jose is part of the solution – he’s not what ails the Mets. Get rid of the parts they no longer need & start rebuilding w/ Jose, DWright, Ike & Thole. It won’t be too long til Mejia, Familia & Harvey are ready to be called up. Fill in the gaps with the proper parts & the Mets should be competitive again in a couple of seasons!
  3. Walnutz15 April 15, 2011 at 10:39 am
    I know there are a lot of Mets fans who would (seemingly) take a bullet for Jose Reyes….it’s kind of bizarre how they trip over themselves to comment on “his smile” and how he can’t do anything wrong.

    Truth be told, I do enjoy him as a ball-player, in terms of tools — Baseball IQ? That’s a completely different story.

    However – the 2 side-stories going on right now:

    A) Reyes’ walk-year; and

    B) The Mets Overall Struggles (on or off-field, take your pick) –

    ….don’t give me a fuzzy-feeling – on either front – about him being back past this year.

    It’s not “doom and gloom” – it’s the reality of competition.

    A talented ballplayer should always be looking to play for a winner, and there’s always going to be MAJOR competition on an open market for a premium free agent.

    I don’t see either developing for the Mets anytime soon.

    We’ll see what happens, but I wouldn’t plan on the Mets shelling out a 7-year type deal for Reyes….and I think he can get something similar, quite easily from a team in need of a SS. There are plenty out there.

    As far as “Francis” is concerned, I recall cringing anytime his name was brought up around here – way back in the day….might have been as soon as Wagner got hurt.

    Never wanted him, ever – and felt the need to spend like we spent on him would be careless….he wanted “at least 5-years, $75MM” initially, and we got him on “a bargain!!” — HA….

    K-Rod’s the exact type of closer that tells you….no team EVER needs to spend $17.5MM for their services. Let alone, one that may be fighting for 4th place in their division.

    Pawn him off, the sooner the better.

  4. CatchDog April 15, 2011 at 10:39 am
    Frankie to the White Sox or Rangers
    Reyes and Pelfrey to the Giants for Bumgardner
    Tron to the Yanks
    Wright to the Orioles
    Bay to the Angels or Tigers
    Santana to the Yanks (when healthy and after CC opts out)

    Sandy will have to eat some salary and may have to wait til next season on some of these guys in order to sell high but the potential haul back could be incredible.

    • Chris from Freehold April 15, 2011 at 11:26 am
      Bingo. It has taken 2+ years of denial but after this start, I am now firmly in the “blow it up” mode. My only problem with your list is Santana. Lots of takers for TJ retreads, but shoulders are different. Not sure there will be many takers there. (Just please don’t ANY of them go to anyone in the NL East.)
  5. Joe April 15, 2011 at 12:21 pm
    It would seem SOMEONE would want K-Rod. Why not? How does the 17M vest work there? Is it off the table once he is traded?

    As to the fire sale talk, fine, but as someone noted, you have to get SOMETHING BACK. Just stripping a car for parts won’t do you much good. The Pirates must be great now with all those first round draft picks, right? So, I’m all for some of the trades, but when you get down to Wright, you need someone back.

    If not, you keep him. Reyes is a harder case. The question is what are you going to get? Who’s going to be your SS? Is he any better? What starter will you get instead for the money? Relievers?

    Yeah, we should think like that, since the future begins now. Still, they also need to start playing smart. Tampa played smart before winning.

    • Joe Janish April 15, 2011 at 4:25 pm
      Joe, most teams would like to get something back in a fire sale. In the Mets’ case, the priority is to dump as much salary and financial commitment as possible so the Wilpons can stay afloat, pay the bills, and keep control of the team.

      It’s their team after all, not ours.

      • Joe April 15, 2011 at 6:22 pm
        “dump as much salary and financial commitment as possible”

        Fine. Two things. First, many around here want a fire sale to start from scratch etc. They aren’t looking at it from the Wilpons end. For them, I say, you need to do it half-way smart. Second, the same applies to the Wilpons, though of course their needs are somewhat different.

        More than one team is likely to want some of these players. Some teams will offer more than one thing that fiscally will be not really too different. So even a fiscal fire sale is a matter of judgment. It’s like the $10M they had to spend. They could have not used a 1/10 of it for Scott Hairston.

  6. Johnny D April 15, 2011 at 1:54 pm
    Joseph,

    Where are the posts re Wally Backman?

    • Joe Janish April 15, 2011 at 4:24 pm
      What posts on Wally Backman?
  7. Jay from Cuse April 15, 2011 at 1:59 pm
    You really can’t trade. His value to the franchise goes beyond his on field value and, in addition to that, you wouldnt get his worth back in prospects or player tradewise. Wright despite his recent strikeout binge and lack of plat discipline is a plus defender and and power/speed guy. I know Alderson’s “system” puts a supposed premium on getting on base, but realisticly you need a corner infield with pop. Wright is that guy + defense and its the Wilpon’s fault for designing a stadium that saps the power from its franchise bat.
    • Jay from Cuse April 15, 2011 at 2:01 pm
      That should read you can’t trade Wright.
    • mooshinator April 15, 2011 at 2:49 pm
      I really like David Wright, always have since way back when he was in the low minors. However, I’m starting to question whether he can return to 2005-2008 form.

      Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a great player, but from 2005-2008 he was one of the most valuable players in baseball. He played terrific defense (even if he didn’t really deserve his gold gloves) and was a fantastic hitter; he could hit 30 homers, steal 30 bases, get on base almost 40% of the time… struck out a moderate amount but not a ton. He was in my opinion Top 5 MVP material year after year.

      Since 2009, though, he’s dropped out of that category. He’s a great player, but instead of being in the Top 5 players in baseball, he might not even be in the Top 3 players at his position. His defense has fallen apart, and he can’t simultaneously get on base and hit for power. He can do one or the other, but he hasn’t been able to put the complete package back together.

      I’d hate to see him go, but I’m starting to question whether I consider him, or anyone on the Mets, untouchable.

  8. Lee April 15, 2011 at 2:46 pm
    Absolutely. And find some other team to take on Beltran as a DH. Offer to pay half their salaries, and use the money for some younger players.

    Why do the Mets need an “elite” closer now or a right fielder playing every 3 days? It’d be in Beltran’s interest to move to the American League, too. He could play the odd day in centerfield.

    p.s. keep Reyes.

  9. Chris from Freehold April 15, 2011 at 3:41 pm
    I think the proverbial wisdom (such as it is) is that both Reyes and Beltran will be gone and the Mets will look for arms and prospects. What I believe we need in addition to those, however, is an on the field leader (catcher?) with some attitude. Someone that inspires confidence that we can come back from any early deficit and still win a game. Maybe Ike can grow into that, but I just don’t see it coming from DW. And that is why, I too, don’t see him as untouchable anymore. I’m sorry: If you are going to use “value to franchise” as an argument, you have to do better than 1-6 on your opening homestand, right? Especially after the off-season we just had?
  10. Mic April 17, 2011 at 12:23 pm
    It is sooo calamitous to utter the word ‘ rebiuld’…see i cant even spell it.

    sorry some of the comments above are bizarre. Our old friend Isuzu called for this TWO yrs ago but really NOW IS THE TIME!!

    1. Sandy alderson: Who is he? Ans- the anti-Omar
    his forte IS rebuilds…check his resume

    2. expiring contracts:
    Luis, Ollie (gone),
    Reyes – replacement hitting ..300 at AAA
    DW- replacement currently playing 2nd base at Citi, Lutz not far behind
    CB- Replacements at AAA (Capt Kirk, Fmart)
    Krod might as well be an expiring contract
    Paulino looks like a cancelled contract…

    Rotation: Gee pitches today, Jenry has a 0.000ERA at AAA (!!!!!). Young and Niese and RA fill out the rotation

    PS: Trading Reyes, DW, Krod and Pelfrey will net a contending team. See Alderson resume.

    • Manchester Met April 18, 2011 at 8:50 am
      Mic,
      Are you seriously suggesting Brad Emaus is a replacement for David Wright? I just damn near choked on my lunch reading that….
  11. Dan April 25, 2011 at 2:40 pm
    I think KRod to Boston for Papelbon would work for both teams. Papelbon was shaky last year, KRod had proven he can pitch in big games. Pabelbon has a one year deal and the money is close, the Mets would actually save $3M if you include the buy out. Boston can split saves with KRod and Bard, so the option won’t kick in. KRod’s change-up plays well at Fenway and Papelbon’s high fastballs have a better chance of staying in the park at Citi Field.