Tigers#1
07-29-2002, 04:37 PM
The White Sox on Monday traded off the third member of their Opening Day lineup in less than a week by dealing veteran catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. to Colorado for minor league pitcher Enemencio Pacheco.
The White Sox and Rockies are playing in the Hall of Fame exhibition game Monday afternoon in Cooperstown, N.Y.
General manager Ken Williams confirmed the trade and added that the Sox will also recall third base prospect Joe Crede and catcher Josh Paul from Class AAA Charlotte.
"It will be announced soon that Joe Crede and Josh Paul will join us for tomorrow night's game in Minnesota," Williams said.
The 24-year-old Crede, a two-time minor league MVP, is hitting .312 with 24 homers and 65 RBIs. He was a fifth-round draft pick in 1996 and had September call-ups with the Sox each of the last two seasons, going 11-for-50 with no homers and seven RBIs overall.
Crede's impending arrival indicates the Sox have a decision to make regarding either Royce Clayton or Jose Valentin. If they aren't traded, one of them is going to wind up sitting on the bench for the majority of the season's final two months.
"That is (manager) Jerry (Manuel's) decision as it currently stands," Williams said.
The Sox have reportedly agreed to pick up most of the remainder of Alomar's contract, or about $800,000. The two-year, $5.4 million deal Alomar signed before the 2001 season was front-loaded so he would be easier to deal but the idea presumably was for him to go to a contender.
Instead, while Ray Durham and Kenny Lofton are now in the Bay Area trying to get Oakland and San Francisco to the playoffs, Alomar is being shipped to the fourth-place Rockies, a team that has a worse record and is even further behind in the standings than the Sox.
Alomar, 36, is hitting .287 with seven homers and 25 RBIs in 51 games. He was on the disabled list for the second half of June with an impingement in his right shoulder.
"He's one of the classiest men, forget baseball, just in life, that I've ever been around," Williams said. "We were certainly fortunate to have him and we will definitely miss him."
Complete coverage >
Paul, 27, was hitting .273 with no homers and 17 RBIs in 64 games. He went 10-for-20 in six games for the Sox while Alomar was on the DL in June. In parts of four seasons, Paul has hit .286 with four homers and 30 RBIs in 105 games.
A platoon of the right-handed Paul and Johnson, a lefty, is likely for the final two months of the season. White Sox manager Jerry Manuel likes Johnson's defense and his left-handed bat but he's only hitting .191 with nine RBIs in 178 at-bats and is a career .219 hitter.
At 34, Frank Thomas becomes the oldest player on the Sox but that could change in the unlikely event a contending team is willing to accept the $40 million remaining on his contract. Thomas has a no-trade clause in his contract but has said he would consider waiving it if the Sox asked him to.
The Sox now have only three players older than 30; Thomas, Clayton and Valentin, both of whom are 32. Todd Ritchie, Kelly Wunsch and Tony Graffanino are all 30.
The three deals made by Williams shed three veterans in their free agent seasons who were a combined 101 years old and has brought in four young arms into the farm system.
A quick rundown of the pitchers the Sox have picked up in the last five days:
RHP Enemencio Pacheco, will turn 24 on August 31, acquired in the Alomar deal. Has a 3.16 ERA and six saves in 41 games for Class A Salem.
RHP Felix Diaz, 22, acquired in the Lofton deal. Ranked the No. 5 prospect in the Giants system by Baseball America, Diaz appeared in only 46 games over his first four seasons due to various shoulder and back injuries but is 3-5 with a 2.70 ERA at Class AA Shreveport this season.
LHP Ryan Meaux, 23, acquired in the Lofton deal. Meaux is 4-3 with 16 saves and a 2.68 ERA in 43 games as the closer for Class A Hagerstown, where he made the South Atlantic League All-Star team.
RHP Jon Adkins, 24, acquired in the Durham deal. Adkins went 7-6 with a 6.03 ERA in 20 starts for Triple-A Sacramento. Gave up two home runs in two innings in his first relief appearance for Charlotte on Sunday.
The White Sox and Rockies are playing in the Hall of Fame exhibition game Monday afternoon in Cooperstown, N.Y.
General manager Ken Williams confirmed the trade and added that the Sox will also recall third base prospect Joe Crede and catcher Josh Paul from Class AAA Charlotte.
"It will be announced soon that Joe Crede and Josh Paul will join us for tomorrow night's game in Minnesota," Williams said.
The 24-year-old Crede, a two-time minor league MVP, is hitting .312 with 24 homers and 65 RBIs. He was a fifth-round draft pick in 1996 and had September call-ups with the Sox each of the last two seasons, going 11-for-50 with no homers and seven RBIs overall.
Crede's impending arrival indicates the Sox have a decision to make regarding either Royce Clayton or Jose Valentin. If they aren't traded, one of them is going to wind up sitting on the bench for the majority of the season's final two months.
"That is (manager) Jerry (Manuel's) decision as it currently stands," Williams said.
The Sox have reportedly agreed to pick up most of the remainder of Alomar's contract, or about $800,000. The two-year, $5.4 million deal Alomar signed before the 2001 season was front-loaded so he would be easier to deal but the idea presumably was for him to go to a contender.
Instead, while Ray Durham and Kenny Lofton are now in the Bay Area trying to get Oakland and San Francisco to the playoffs, Alomar is being shipped to the fourth-place Rockies, a team that has a worse record and is even further behind in the standings than the Sox.
Alomar, 36, is hitting .287 with seven homers and 25 RBIs in 51 games. He was on the disabled list for the second half of June with an impingement in his right shoulder.
"He's one of the classiest men, forget baseball, just in life, that I've ever been around," Williams said. "We were certainly fortunate to have him and we will definitely miss him."
Complete coverage >
Paul, 27, was hitting .273 with no homers and 17 RBIs in 64 games. He went 10-for-20 in six games for the Sox while Alomar was on the DL in June. In parts of four seasons, Paul has hit .286 with four homers and 30 RBIs in 105 games.
A platoon of the right-handed Paul and Johnson, a lefty, is likely for the final two months of the season. White Sox manager Jerry Manuel likes Johnson's defense and his left-handed bat but he's only hitting .191 with nine RBIs in 178 at-bats and is a career .219 hitter.
At 34, Frank Thomas becomes the oldest player on the Sox but that could change in the unlikely event a contending team is willing to accept the $40 million remaining on his contract. Thomas has a no-trade clause in his contract but has said he would consider waiving it if the Sox asked him to.
The Sox now have only three players older than 30; Thomas, Clayton and Valentin, both of whom are 32. Todd Ritchie, Kelly Wunsch and Tony Graffanino are all 30.
The three deals made by Williams shed three veterans in their free agent seasons who were a combined 101 years old and has brought in four young arms into the farm system.
A quick rundown of the pitchers the Sox have picked up in the last five days:
RHP Enemencio Pacheco, will turn 24 on August 31, acquired in the Alomar deal. Has a 3.16 ERA and six saves in 41 games for Class A Salem.
RHP Felix Diaz, 22, acquired in the Lofton deal. Ranked the No. 5 prospect in the Giants system by Baseball America, Diaz appeared in only 46 games over his first four seasons due to various shoulder and back injuries but is 3-5 with a 2.70 ERA at Class AA Shreveport this season.
LHP Ryan Meaux, 23, acquired in the Lofton deal. Meaux is 4-3 with 16 saves and a 2.68 ERA in 43 games as the closer for Class A Hagerstown, where he made the South Atlantic League All-Star team.
RHP Jon Adkins, 24, acquired in the Durham deal. Adkins went 7-6 with a 6.03 ERA in 20 starts for Triple-A Sacramento. Gave up two home runs in two innings in his first relief appearance for Charlotte on Sunday.