As had been rumored, catcher Ramon Castro has been traded to the Chicago White Sox in return for RHP Lance Broadway.

The deal cements Omir Santos’ place on the 25-man roster as the current backup to the returning Brian Schneider. Manager Jerry Manuel, however, said that although Schneider would get the bulk of the playing time “at first”, he would more or less have to perform to remain the regular backstop.

At first glance, the trade appears to be a good one for all sides. The White Sox get a slugging righthanded-hitting catcher to platoon with A.J. Pierzynski, the Mets make room for Santos while also ridding themselves of a player in need of constant motivation, Castro gets a chance to play for a manager who will push him, the Mets get a young middle reliever to add to their AAA depth, and Broadway goes to an organization that may have more use for him than the one he’s leaving.

The White Sox have good depth in their bullpen, leaving little room and patience for the 25-year-old Broadway, who has struggled in his short stints in MLB over the past three seasons.

However, Broadway was the 15th overall pick in the 2005 draft, and as recently as last January was Chicago’s #2 prospect according to Baseball America. He is a tall Texan who can throw four pitches for strikes, but his velocity rarely gets above 90 MPH. If he can ever find consistent command of those four pitches, he would project as a Greg Maddux type of pitcher. The White Sox gave up on him as a starter, and though he remained one as a minor leaguer, he’s since been projected as an MLB middle reliever. I’m not sure how that will pan out, as it’s tough to pitch in that role as a junkballer. In any case, he’s being sent to Buffalo, and we’ll find out soon what plans the Mets have for him. My guess is they’ll plug him into the rotation at first to get a good look at him / give him innings to show what he can do.

The Mets did send cash back to Chicago, though the amount was undisclosed at press time.

As David Lennon tweeted, Broadway has a good name for New York City.

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Chicago White Sox have signed Bartolo Colon to a one-year contract.

Nice pickup by the ChiSox, who simply needed an extra guy to vie for a back-end rotation spot. They add Colon to the competition for the #5 slot and as insurance behind Jose Contreras, who is coming off an injury.

Personally, I would have liked to have seen the Mets bring in Colon, despite his physical similarity to Shamu. Despite his weight issues — which no doubt have contributed to his health issues — when he’s on the mound, he’s a tough competitor and knows how to win. In fact I would be happy if the Mets brought in four or five guys of Colon’s caliber to compete for the last two spots in the starting rotation. The more the merrier, and to me it’s better to take chances on pitchers who have succeeded in the past (Colon, Pedro Martinez, Freddy Garcia, etc.) than guys who have never been more than mediocre (i.e., Tim Redding). But hey, what do I know?

One good thing for the Mets about this signing: it likely means that Freddy Garcia is off Chicago’s radar. The question, of course, is whether the Mets will roll the dice on Garcia, or let yet another starting pitcher with postseason experience elude their grasp.

Despite a report from Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News reporting that the White Sox traded outfielder Jermaine Dye to the Cincinnati Reds for young hurler Homer Bailey, there is yet confirmation that the deal is done — or even true.

This according to the grunts on the floor in Las Vegas, who are reporting via Twitter (go to Twitter search and type in #bwm to get the frenzied reports on a minute-by-minute basis), as well as from Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.

I don’t see the Reds making a deal, since their pitching is a little iffy and would appear to be in something of a rebuilding mode. This time last year, Bailey’s stock was higher than that of Mike Pelfrey. Though he seemed to take a step backward in 2008, Bailey is still only 22 years old and has a world of talent. Those of us (myself included) were impatient with Pelfrey, but he certainly turned it around — Bailey has the same capability.

By the way the same story by Gonzales claims that the Mets-White Sox talks for Bobby Jenks never went anywhere, because the Mets didn’t want to part with Bobby Parnell. C’mon now, are you kidding me? That’s sillier than the Heilman / Feliciano / Huston Street rumor. If Parnell was the holdup in the deal then I fully expect the Mets to stop looking for a closer and give the job to Parnell. There had to be more to that story.

In his most recent column, Joel Sherman is reporting on several rumors. We’ll go over them one by one.

Jenks / Dye / F-Mart
Sherman claims there is nothing to the rumor that the Mets will trade Fernando Martinez to the White Sox as part of a package for Bobby Jenks and Jermaine Dye:

“Talked to a few Met officials who called it nonsense. The Mets have made Martinez all but untouchable.”

J.J. Putz
However, Sherman does report that the Mariners are making J.J. Putz available:

What falls under the category of real, the Post has learned, is that the Mariners have made J.J. Putz available.

Gee, thanks for scoop! However the rest of the planet above that rock the Post has been under, heard this about a month ago.

Sherman goes on to state:

“The Mets like Putz as much – or possibly more – than any of the available free-agent closers.”

Not sure why they’re so high on Putz, though I like him better than Fuentes. Do they know he’ll be 32 years old in February? That his walk rate increased dramatically in 2008? (From 13 in 72 IP in 2007 to 28 BB in 46 IP in ’08.) Do they know he had a balky elbow last season, one that put him on the DL for a month? I’m not sure I’d be so quick to trade young healthy prospects for this guy.

and

“I do keep hearing from both inside and outside the Met organization that they really are dead set against giving either Rodriguez or Fuentes more than three guaranteed years. They certainly are not going to give more than three years unless an agent for Fuentes or K-Rod can show an offer from somewhere else for more than three years. It is hard to unearth a team that is ready to go to four years for one of them. The Mets are scared about Kerry Wood’s injury history, but if he were willing to do a two-year contract and come to New York he would become as appealing to the Mets as either K-Rod or Fuentes.”

Have to agree with Sherman here — it makes no sense for the Mets to go more than three years for either K-Rod or Fuentes, when it’s unlikely anyone else is willing to give them a longer deal. I bet Kerry Wood is willing to take a two-year deal — the only issue is whether he wants to pitch in New York. Why give three years plus your #1 pick for the other guys when you can get someone nearly as good for two years and no pick? Of course, an MRI of his shoulder is a prerequisite, but Rodriguez and Fuentes do not come without risk — either may be on the brink of a breakdown, for all we know.

Chad Bradford
Sherman says the Rays offered ChadBrad to the Mets, but there was no interest:

“The Rays offered Chad Bradford to the Mets because $3.5 million is too much in Tampa’s world for a set-up man, and Ray officials were shocked when the Mets told them it is too much for them, as well.”

If this is true, I’m equally shocked — beyond belief. After seeing Bradford pitch better for one season than any other 6th-7th inning guy in Mets history, and seeing him continue to be effective after leaving New York, and knowing that his underhanded style allows him to pitch, literally, every day, and seeing how cheap he is relative to other middle relievers, there simply is no logical explanation for the Mets to balk at such an offer. Now, if the Rays were asking for Daniel Murphy, I understand. But if it was a salary dump, and the Rays were looking to open a conversation, this makes no sense.

The only reasoning that makes sense — again, if the rumor is true — is that by bringing back ChadBrad, the Mets think it will make them look like the bungling idiots for allowing him to walk away in the first place. Because if you remember, they thought Bradford wasn’t worth a 3-year deal (but somehow, Scott Schoeneweis was).

C’mon now …. swallow your pride, admit your mistake, and trade a bag of balls for Chad Bradford. He can pitch in ANY relief situation (including closer, if necessary), he’s cheap, he has one year left, and he’s better than anyone currently listed as a reliever on the 40-man roster.

John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus suggests that the White Sox and Mets are talking about a blockbuster trade that would send Fernando Martinez to Chicago in return for Bobby Jenks and Jermaine Dye.

Strange, as Jermaine Dye — who has a no-trade clause — has repeatedly stated that he is not interested in going to a New York team. Maybe he can be persuaded after all.

If the rumor is true, the only problem I have is that Ken Williams — like Billy Beane — seems to have a brilliant knack for trading away pitchers at just the right time and acquiring pitchers at just the right time. My guess is that Aaron Heilman would also be part of the deal.

Pending a physical, the Braves have acquired Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan from the White Sox in exchange for Brent Lillibridge, Tyler Flowers, Jon Gilmore, and Santos Rodriguez.

As isuzudude already commented, this deal likely takes Atlanta out of the running for Jake Peavy — though, the pieces the Padres want are still property of the Braves. If the Braves are willing to give up more from their abundance of near-ready prospects, plus Yunel Escobar, then a Peavy deal is still possible. But with Lillibridge gone, the only way I see the Braves dealing Escobar is if they either get Khalil Greene back or if they sign someone like Edgar Renteria or Orlando Cabrera.

Regardless, the Braves are in the market for at least another starting pitcher, and they have supposedly made an offer to A.J. Burnett. Both the Vazquez deal and the offer to Burnett give them leverage in the Peavy talks. Will be interesting to watch.

Is this a good deal for the Braves? It does look that way, particularly since Lillibridge’s stock plummeted after a disappointing 2008 season in AAA, and the other three prospects are relative no-names. However, the White Sox were desperate to dump Vazquez, and what they received in return was a talented, speedy middle infielder who will play in MLB next year and a young power-hitting catcher with enormous upside. After a monster performance in the Arizona Fall League, Flowers might see some action for the ChiSox before the end of ’09, and — if he continues his current course — could be a future All-Star caliber catcher.

Vazquez will do well in Atlanta, partially because he’s getting away from a manager who didn’t want him and partially because he’s going to a city that is ideal for his personality — low-key, low expectations, not much media coverage. He won’t be an ace but he’ll be a solid #2 or #3.

Don’t discount the acquisition of Boone Logan, a young LOOGY who has been getting pounded by AL hitters for the last three years. Logan is only 24 years old, has a live fastball, and is very tough on lefties. He has age on his side, and he’s improving. The control problem that plagued his first two years is becoming less of an issue, as his K:BB ratio improved dramatically from 2007 to 2008 (in ’08 he struck out 42 and walked 14 in 42 IP; in ’07 he went 35 K / 20 BB / 52 IP). I’m not saying Logan is the next Mike Gonzalez, but he should earn a spot in the Braves bullpen and be a significant contributor.

Interesting point: the Braves and White Sox are two teams that rarely make bad trades. Further, neither of them are done dealing this winter.

That would be KANEKOA Texeira, not MARK TEIXEIRA.

The Chicago White Sox dumped Nick Swisher and young righty Texeira on the Yankees in return for utilityman Wilson Betemit and prospects Jeffrey Marquez and Jhonny Nunez.

Very strange deal from the Yankees’ POV, and in my estimation they overpaid.

In Swisher, the Yankees get a left-handed hitting corner outfielder and first baseman, to add to their deep stash of lefthanded-hitting corner outfielders. Though they are looking for a centerfielder, and Swisher plays the position, it’s doubtful he’s their ideal choice there. Why they were so hot to trade away top prospects and a very serviceable bench guy in Betemit, is a little puzzling. I suppose they see Swisher as a more athletic version of Jason Giambi. And it makes sense in a market devoid of any decent first basemen after Teixeira.

For those who aren’t aware, Marquez is a pretty strong prospect. He struggled in his transition from AA to AAA, but before 2008 was ahead of, and better ranked, than either Bobby Parnell or Jon Niese are now. Methinks Ken Williams did well in stealing Marquez as part of the package. Nunez is no slouch either — he is exactly the type of sinker-slider guy Williams has been seeking. He could move quickly and find himself in the White Sox pen before the end of next season.

So much for Swisher going to Flushing. I doubt Mets fans would have been happy to see a package of Bobby Parnell, Eddie Kunz, and, say, Endy Chavez (for lack of a better comp) going to Chicago for him.

Expect to see the Yankees trade Hideki Matsui to Seattle now, as he has become redundant. Maybe Johnny Damon goes too.

These Mets – White Sox rumors are only getting hotter. Now it’s reported that the White Sox are looking to trade outfielder Jermaine Dye, and have been specifically scouting Mets prospects Bobby Parnell and Eddie Kunz in the Arizona Fall League.

From Mark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune:

Tuesday night, several Sox officials watched Mets pitching prospects Bobby Parnell and Eddie Kunz pitch for the Peoria Saguaros in the AFL. Two scouts believed Parnell, 24, was too valuable for the Mets to deal and believed Kunz, a projected closer, needed more seasoning in the minors.

Parnell and Kunz, 22, have sinking fastballs that Williams seeks to neutralize hitter-friendly U.S. Cellular Field.

Strangely enough, the idea of the Mets dealing for Javy Vazquez was squashed:

Regarding Javier Vazquez, one scout doubted any talks involving him and the New York Mets would crystallize until the Mets resolve their closer issues.

Not sure why a scout would say such a thing. Yes the Mets are desperate for a closer, but they’re more desperate to fill two huge holes in their starting rotation. The ninth inning means very little if you don’t have anyone to get through the first five or six frames.

I like Dye, he’s coming off an excellent season, and he’d fit nicely between Beltran and Delgado or Delgado and Church in the lineup, but he’s going to be 35 in January. Aren’t the Mets trying to get younger? If the cost is both Kunz and Parnell, then it’s a fair deal for both sides, but the possibility of trading for a strong closer becomes more difficult. I wouldn’t think twice about trading two unproven minor leaguers for a bonafide all-star, except that Ken Williams has been remarkably successful in acquiring and trading young arms in recent years. Has he been lucky, or is his scouting staff that good at assessing and projecting pitching talent?

In any case, I wonder if Omar Minaya and Kenny Williams will indeed pull off a blockbuster as suggested yesterday, or if this could be reminiscent of the 2005-2006 offseason, when the Mets made two separate deals with the Marlins to acquire Carlos Delgado and Paul LoDuca. One way or another, it appears as if these two GMs are talking, and could be trade partners before the winter solstice.