One word summed up Thursday for Chris Getz – “Bizarre.”
The second baseman woke up a member of the White Sox, but by the time breakfast came to an end he was headed to Kansas City.
At least that’s what a New York Daily News story was reporting.
The paper had Getz and disgruntled third baseman Josh Fields fitted for royal blue uniforms with the Sox getting 28-year-old Jack of all trades, master of none, Mark Teahen coming to the South Side.
A source close to the situation then confirmed to the Sun-Times that the deal was all but done, but there were still talks about the possibility of minor-league prospects being involved. There was the hold up.
Meanwhile, the Sox and Royals each told different media outlets that they had nothing to report on the matter, and that included letting Getz in on what was going on.
“I have no idea what’s going on,” Getz responded in a text.
That stance didn’t change for the infielder as the day went on, still not hearing anything on the matter from the Sox – either confirming or denying the trade.
Yet, no one in the organization, including general manager Ken Williams, returned texts on the matter. Not even a “Stay out of White Sox business” from the GM – a line he likes to use concerning rumored trades.
But while the rumored deal initially raised some eyebrows, it did make sense considering the trail of breadcrumbs left by the club the last few months of the season.
The two free agents on their radar going into the 2009-10 offseason were Bobby Abreu and Chone Figgins, but those close to Abreu in the Sox organization already knew that Abreu and the Angels were in discussions to keep him in Los Angeles, which came to fruition on Thursday afternoon with the news of his two-year deal. That left Figgins still with a bull’s eye on his back, but an expensive one at that.
The Sox have also all but indicated that free agent-to-be Jermaine Dye will not have his $12 million option picked up for 2010, allowing him to test the market after the 15-day window from Thursday closes.
There were initial talks with Scott Podsednik to re-sign with the club, but that might have been nothing more than a PR move by the club, allowing them to stall and find out the asking price for Figgins in just over two weeks.
If Teahen, who hit .271 with 12 homers and 50 RBI last season, is in fact South Side bound, his versatility to play the outfield or third base gives the club options as they move forward in building the 2010 team. Teahen could allow the Sox to move Gordon Beckam to second base. Two weeks ago, manager Ozzie Guillen said that he saw Beckham as a future second baseman when asked if Beckham could ever return to his natural position of shortstop.
The other option is that the Sox will play Teahen in the outfield, moving Beckham to second and clearing the way for Figgins to be the third baseman.
Jayson Nix could also be in the mix, but Guillen was not happy with the at-bats the free-swinging Nix gave away and said he would need to be more selective if he wanted to make the team next season.
What the Sox did announce on Thursday morning was that they agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract for free agent-to-be Mark Kotsay. The versatile Kotsay gives Guillen a backup first baseman, as well as an outfielder to rotate around. More importantly, Kotsay emerged as a team leader from Day 1 and was an instant favorite of Guillen’s.
As far as where the Field, Getz, Teahen deal is, stay tuned.
Bizarre indeed.
