Chicago White Sox- The White Sox had an excess of starting pitchers to a point where they felt comfortable dealing one of their six starters. This starter was Edwin Jackson who was probably the easiest to move with an expiring contract. So they dealt him to Toronto, along with Mark Teahen and his 4.5 million dollar contract. The Jays got a useful reliever in Jason Frasor and pitching prospect Zach Stewart. This is all well because Stewart is probably in Chicago’s rotation in two years time at the latest. But then there were reports that the White Sox felt as though they needed more starting pitching… wait, what? It’s extremely confusing, but then again we’re talking about Kenny Williams, so maybe it’s not that surprising.
Chicago Cubs- Sorry again Windy City, but the Cubs confused me with what they did. I understand that they want to keep as much of a winning team as possible to entice a Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols, but why didn’t you trade Carlos Pena? Nothing against Pena, but he has an expiring contract, one, and two he’s probably going to leave if they sign one of the aforementioned free-agent first basemen. So, why not trade him? They could have given Jeff Baker time at first and waited to get Prince or Pujols. Not dealing Koyie Hill also was a bit confusing. He isn’t starting, so there won’t be a sweepstakes to replace him. And there were teams out there like San Francisco and maybe Boston who could have used him.
Seattle Mariners- The M’s got a haul of good players for Doug Fister and David Pauley, but the players didn’t make sense for Seattle. They got good players from Detroit, but Seattle didn’t really have a need for any of the players. Fransisco Martinez will probably be the best player of the group, but he is blocked by Alex Liddi, a power hitting 3rd baseman in AAA Tacoma. Also in Tacoma is other 3B Matt Mangini who is a top prospect as well. Casper Wells showed the potential to be a solid player, but Seattle has used outfielders Mike Wilson, Greg Halman, Mike Carp, Michael Saunders and Carlos Peguero in left field — all of whom have been up and down with Seattle and Tacoma. Furbush is a nice young arm, but giving up Fister who is under team control through 2015 doesn’t make sense for a guy with a 3.33 ERA.