White Sox May Be Targeting JR Murphy In Trade

Other than Rule 5 pick Adrian Nieto, @whitesox haven't addressed catching void. Yankees' J.R. Murphy among targets in potential trades.
— Phil Rogers (@philgrogers) December 22, 2013

According to Phil Rogers from MLB.com the Chicago White Sox may be targeting the Yankees young catcher JR Murphy in a trade. The Sox have added some nice young pieces lately including Jose Abreu (26), Adam Eaton (25), and Matt Davidson (22) and now may be turning their attention to a back stop.

The Yankees are going all in once again for the 2014 season so second basemen Gordon Beckham could be attractive and an upgrade over Brian Roberts or whoever else we plan on throwing out there. Jeff Keppinger could also be a cheap option for third base as well as Alexei Ramirez for shortstop. The White Sox could also always blow it up and make John Danks available after a tough season but that may be a stretch admittedly.

Beckham still has two more years of arbitration and team control before becoming a free agent and would be an attractive option, even with his below average bat. Ramirez is expensive with $19.5 million remaining on the contract for 2014 and 2015 with a $10 million team option for 2016 which could be turned down without a buy out. Keppinger has two years left and $8.5 million left on his three year deal that he signed last year after the Yankees tried to acquire him because of his ability to play both second and third base. Keppinger is coming off of a terrible 2013 campaign but is also coming off a terrible shoulder injury so the Yankees could buy low and get a ton of production.

Danks is owed $42 million through 2016 and has been on the Yankees radar forever so could it finally come to fruition? He may have struggled for two seasons now but he may be better than anyone out there besides the top tier free agents that the Yankees have shown zero interest in and could be used to fill in the rotation. Below average or not he eats innings and has been decent and that may be the best the Yankees get this offseason without Masahiro Tanaka.

Are We A Trade Match With The Chicago White Sox?

The Chicago White Sox, much like the New York Yankees, are apparently open for business when it comes to trades this trading deadline. The White Sox are not competing once again in the AL Central and they have lots of high priced veterans that the Sox will look to move in order to rebuild and retool for the future that the Yankees will surely be interested in.

First let's get the pipe dreams out of the way by saying that the White Sox are not going to trade Chris Sale and they are not going to trade Paul Konerko, as much as I would like both of them. Tyler Flowers is probably not going to get moved either  unfortunately because the White Sox liked him enough to let AJ Pierzynski walk this past off season. Adam Dunn is going to be a tough move with him hitting below the Mendoza line once again batting .194 and is scheduled to make $15,000,000 in 2014.

John Danks just signed an extension worth $65,000,000 over the next five seasons making him highly unlikely to be moved and more likely to be built around in that rotation. Jeff Keppinger was another guy the Yankees targeted this off season before he signed a three year deal before the season making him also unlikely to be traded. It is conceivable that the White Sox could trade one of the two, more than likely that being Keppinger over Danks,  and use the "total years of team control with a team friendly contract" line in negotiating but I personally do not see it.

The White Sox have more than a few guys that the Yankees would be interested in and should look in to so I am excited to see the latest fire sale in Chicago happen sooner rather than later.

Jeff Keppinger Comes Off The Board

The Chicago White Sox have snagged Jeff Keppinger off the free agent market today with a three year deal worth $12 million. The Yankees were linked to Keppinger even before the Alex Rodriguez news broke but I could not see them going any more then two years for Keppinger. This is disappointing as yet another option comes off the board.

Yankees Looking Hard At Jeff Keppinger

With bidding around 2 years and $8 million, the Yankees apparently have a strong interest in Jeff Keppinger.  The team met with Keppinger's agent yesterday, and are feeling more urgency towards 3B has they need a starter for around half a season, rather than a backup.

It should be noted that Jeff is recovering from a broken fibula, but it's not affecting his free agency very much.  That's not really a surprise, since the fibula is not a weight-bearing bone like the tibia or femur is.

A couple of days ago I would have been surprised that the Yankees would give somebody a 2 year deal, since he would be a bench player once Alex Rodriguez returns. But due to the news about the insurance on ARod, and the fact Alex may never be 100% again, the urgency is a bit higher for a guy that could be a legit starter at the hot corner.